THE Oxford Mail’s campaign to get more public access defibrillators across Oxfordshire turns its sights on shopping centres and stores today.

Campaign leader and ambulance service commander Dick Tracey said he would welcome the opportunity to work with retail managers to get the lifesaving units installed.

He made his comments after it emerged that a GP used a portable defibrillator to try to save a woman’s life in Marks & Spencer inWitney last month.

The shop chain has now pledged to work with Mr Tracey and South Central Ambulance Service to get one installed in its Marriots Close store, and the Westgate Alliance has also promised to install several at the new Westgate Centre in Oxford.

Mr Tracey said: “That is a fantastic start, and I would welcome the opportunity to work with the management of all shopping precincts to try and secure public access defibrillators, particularly in these high-footfall areas.”

Mr Tracey has used the Oxford Mail-backed campaign to get 200 more public defibrillators installed across the county, but these have largely been at more rural areas such as village halls and sports pavilions.

Mr Tracey, who lives in West Oxfordshire, added: “We have seen great work by parish councils in rural areas and I would love to expand on that.

“In high-footfall areas there is always going to be a great chance that someone is going to have a need for a defibrillator.”

It follows the death of Paula Symes, 76, from Woodstock, a retired maths teacher.

An inquest at Oxford Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, July 22, heard she began having trouble breathing during lunch at the M&S store’s cafe.

A statement from Mrs Symes’ GP in Woodstock revealed that she had been diagnosed with a progressive palsy which was causing increasing paralysis of the muscles involved in swallowing.

Mr Symes and medically-trained staff from the shop rushed to help Mrs Symes and someone called 999.

The on-call GP at the nearby Nuffield Health Centre heard that someone was in trouble at the cafe and also ran to help.

In his statement, Dr Richard Carey said: “We ran to the store and up to the cafe, then it became apparent neither Marriott’s Walk nor M&S had a defibrillator so I requested someone to run back to our practice to get our defibrillator.”

When he arrived in the cafe he found Mrs Symes on the floor unconscious and started performing CPR.

He then used the practice’s defibrillator but was unable to revive Mrs Symes and had to pronounce her dead.

Defibrillators are specifically used to treat cardiac arrest which can be caused by choking, but it is not clear in this case whether having a defibrillator earlier would have saved Mrs Symes’ life.

Coroner Darren Salter recorded a verdict of accidental death, and said that the cause of death in this case was choking.