NEARLY 400 more community defibrillators have been registered across Yorkshire in the last 12 months.

There are now 883 life-saving cPADS accessible to the public after an additional 389 of them were registered with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

YAS is working with community groups and charities, including the Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund, Heartbeat of Sport and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charitable Fund, to encourage the introduction of as many cPADs across Yorkshire as possible.

Ambulance services attempt resuscitation in nearly 30,000 people suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year.

Two of the most important factors influencing survival are the early use of effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation.

Defibrillation is achieved by the use of a cPAD which gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall to someone who is in cardiac arrest.

The patient’s chance of survival falls by around seven to ten per cent with every minute that defibrillation is delayed.

Paul Stevens, head of community resilience for YAS, said: “We are thrilled that almost 400 additional cPADs have been registered with the ambulance service during the last financial year.

“This is a massive achievement because every second counts when a cardiac arrest occurs. With fast and effective CPR and defibrillation, the patient’s chances of survival increase significantly so the more defibrillators we have in our communities and the more people trained in CPR, the better.”

If you are thinking about buying a defibrillator for your community in North Yorkshire, please contact the Community Resilience Department by emailing: ben.rushworth@yas.nhs.uk