The Oliver King (OK) Foundation and their campaigners have only until February to collect the 78,000 signatures required for Parliament to debate providing every UK school with live-saving defibrillators.
The OK Foundation was founded by the parents of 12-year-old Oliver King after he died when his heart stopped whilst swimming at King David High School in Childwall.
Oliver’s parents believe that had a defibrillator been available at the time, Oliver’s life could have been saved.
The government has recently rejected calls from OK to ensure that all UK schools and public buildings be fitted with the life-saving machines. The Foundation was left astonished at the decision after an online petition of 20,000 names was rejected.
They must now raise close to 80,000 more names in order for their hopes of the defibrillators to be distributed to become a reality.
Oliver’s father and lead campaigner for the foundation Mark King told JMU Journalism: “The government are just wasting time. We have made a plea that we will invest £20m into the technology.
“There are fire blankets, fire extinguishers, etc in all public buildings – these defibrillators will save lives.
“They could save the lives of over 270 children a year. This is a disappointing setback for us. We will go back to Parliament about this.”
The campaign has already achieved its aim of providing every school in Liverpool with defibrillators.
You can join the campaign’s e-petition here.