Life saving defibrillator installed at Dewsbury ambulance station

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) is fitting the defibrillators – which can be accessed by residents in local communities – outside stations which don’t have another CPAD within a 600 metre radius.

This project has seen a life-saving device placed at the station on Bretton Street.

Defibrillators give a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest to restore the heart’s normal rhythm. The devices are easy to use and no training is required to use the equipment.

Joanne Watson, community defibrillation co-ordinator with the community resilience team at YAS, has been overseeing the installation programme.

She said: “We all know that defibrillation, along with CPR, are essential steps in the chain of survival. It’s great to be able to provide CPADs outside ambulance stations so they can be accessed and used by members of the public to help save the lives of patients in cardiac arrest.

“Anyone who calls 999 for someone in cardiac arrest will be directed to their nearest device and provided with a code to the secure cabinet.”

Life savers: Defibrillators are being places at ambulance stations.