Defibrillator donation

The kind-hearted family of a man who suffered a heart attack outside Medway Maritime Hospital has raised money to fund an external defibrillator in his memory.

Bachu Kantilal Patel, 71, visited the site on 17 August 2020 for a COVID-19 test, ahead of endoscopy and colonoscopy investigations. While having the test, he struggled to breathe, unexpectedly fell unconscious and suffered a third heart attack. Manual CPR was administered in the back of the car and then on the roadside before a defibrillator arrived.

Daughter, Mayuri Patel was with her father when he had his heart attack. She said: “My beloved father slipped into a coma and did not wake up, sadly passing away on 3rd September 2020. It is because of this traumatic experience that our family wanted to fundraise for an external defibrillator at Medway Maritime Hospital to honour my father’s memory.


“During my father’s life, he always donated to various charities, especially children’s charities such as The Smile Train and Barnados. If he saw a neighbour struggling with their shopping, or even to get out of their car if they were elderly, he would offer help despite his age. He was an immensely strong person, both mentally and physically.
“I set up our Just Giving page in September 2020 and raised awareness amongst our family and friends to help support our cause. We want to say a huge thank you to all those who made a generous donation for an external defibrillator, as it is a great legacy to a truly wonderful man.


“Our family would also like to thank Jo Lovell from the London Hearts Charity who further helped us in our fundraising endeavours and Donna Law, Charity and Fundraising Manager at The Medway Hospital Charity, who used additional charitable funds to support our family’s wishes.”
The external defibrillator is sited outside residence 13, near the roundabout to the Green Zone car park. A code is required to access it. This is registered with Emergency Services call handlers and will be released should a member of the public call 999 and require use of it.

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