Bolton: Importance of defibrillators raised after man's death

Ketan Patel was only 45 when he died on May 11 this year.

He had been on a walk up Rivington Pike with his wife, Nita, and their eight-year-old daughter when he collapsed. 

Members of the public and paramedics tended to him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. 

A campaign to get a defibrillator installed at Fika Rivington Cafe has now been launched following Ketan's death. 

Ketan Patel (Image: Family)

The lifesaving devices have been put in place across the Bolton borough over the last few years, as campaigners work to get as many of them installed as possible. 

One such campaigner is Claire Axon, whose husband of 14 years, Neil, died suddenly in 2012. 

She spoke about the importance of defibrillators, saying: "It is really important, and it is a busy area with lots of families and people of all ages, I've walked up there loads of times. 

"I believe the nearest defibrillator to that location is the Rivington Information Centre, which is right at the bottom.

"Having a defibrillator there will make a lot of difference, we can't know when something like this will happen, but it makes a difference when defibrillators are installed. 

Claire Axon has worked to have defibrillators installed (Image: Public)

"These devices are important and can, and do, make that difference between life and death." 

To see Ketan's family tributes, follow this link: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/24351966.rivington-heartbreak-young-father-dies-family-walk/ 

She added: "Those of us like myself who have had a loss in this way know how it affects people, but I think it is amazing that they are doing something proactive about this. 

"My condolences go out to the family who have had this loss, there are no words, all we can do is our best to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. The initial cost outlay is expensive, but you can't put a price on someone's life. 

"I think educating people is very important, like I do offer free awareness training. There is no point in having them if people are worried about using them - people don't know about defibrillators and aren't confident with them. 

"People need training, and then they are more likely to be able to deal with an emergency situation like someone in cardiac arrest."