Mark and Joanna King founded the Oliver King Foundation in 2012 following the death of their 12-year-old son and are stepping up their push to persuade businesses to install defibrillators. Tony McDonough reports

Founders of a Liverpool charity set up after the sudden death of 12-year-old Oliver King are urging more businesses to install lifesaving defibrillators.

Mark and Joanne King set up the Oliver King Foundation in 2012 after Oliver died during a school swimming race from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), a hidden heart condition which kills between 12 to 20 young people each week.

Last year they won a decade-long fight for access to defibrillators to be mandatory in every state-run school in the UK.

Since 2012 Mark has delivered more than 6,200 defibrillators personally and trained over 160,000 people in defibrillator awareness. H continues to provide life-saving defibrillators and awareness training to businesses across the country.

These sessions, which take 90 minutes to complete and can accommodate groups of any size, have recently been used by The Jamie Carragher 23 Foundation, Liverpool FC, Rainbow Restoration, Steven Gerrard Academy and The Robbie Fowler Academy.

Mark also offers free defibrillators to families in need as The Oliver King Foundation sets a new long-term goal of making defibrillators as commonplace as fire extinguishers in public buildings.

It is also aiming to open an ECG Testing and Wellness Centre offering free testing for 14 to 35-year-olds and supporting individuals and families whose lives have been affected by a heart attack or cardiac arrest.

At the time of writing, The Oliver King Awareness is aware of at least 73 lives saved from their tireless campaigning and defibrillator installations.

“I know how important awareness training is to use life–saving defibrillators,” said Mark. “If you are able to use a defibrillator in a fast, safe and confident manner, you massively improve the chances of saving a life in an emergency.

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“We want to ensure defibrillators are installed in public spaces across the North West, and eventually the entire country, with people of all ages confident in using the equipment, which will be achieved with the right training.

“If you or your business would like to find out more, do not hesitate to contact The Oliver King Foundation and we will be in touch to arrange a visit.”

To enquire about defibrillator and awareness training with Mark contact info@theoliverkingfoundation.co.uk