Oliver King death: Family want defibrillators in schools

On what would have been his 18th birthday, Oliver King's father said his son was special and would have been tall and handsome

The family of a boy who died from an undiagnosed heart condition in 2011 said they are determined to see defibrillators put in every school.

Oliver King, 12, died when his heart stopped during a swimming lesson at King David High School in Liverpool.

Campaigners said every year an average of 270 children die at school in the UK from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome.

On what would have been his 18th birthday, Oliver's father said "lives have got to stop being lost".

'Devastation'

In 2013, The Oliver King Foundation helped to secure a change in government policy where all schools are recommended - but not obliged - to purchase a defibrillator.

Oliver's father Mark King said: "There's one word that comes with this, when you get that phone call, it is devastation. That never goes away."

Mark King said his heart was "shattered" over his son Oliver's death

He said: "You can either draw your curtains, because nothing I say or do is going to bring Oliver back, or you can pull the curtains aside and say this has got to stop. These lives have got to stop being lost."

Defibrillators provided by the Oliver King Foundation have saved 11 lives in the past five years, from a four-year-old to a 60-year-old.

What is a defibrillator?

Former footballer Fabrice Muamba has also campaigned for more defibrillators

• It is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall to someone who is in cardiac arrest

• If you come across someone who has had a cardiac arrest, it's vital to call 999 and start CPR - then you should find out if there is a defibrillator nearby

• Many are available in public places such as railway stations, shopping centres, airport and leisure centres and anyone can use them in an emergency

• In 2014, former footballer Fabrice Muamba, who had a cardiac arrest on the pitch in 2012, launched a campaign to get more defibrillators in public places

Source: British Heart Foundation

A primary school in Anfield piloted the installation of a defibrillator.

Stephanie Tasker, head of Pinehurst Primary School said: "We felt privileged to be chosen as the first school to get the defibrillator and all the training that went alongside it as well.

"We believe it has given us a lot more confidence to be able to manage any incident."

The Oliver King foundation is campaigning to set up a heart screening centre in Liverpool and to get defibrillators in all public buildings.

On 27 January, MPs will debate the Defibrillators (Availability) Bill, which requires all schools to have a lifesaving defibrillator, and MPs will vote on whether to pass the law.