THE Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity has announced the launch of a new scheme supporting communities in Bradford to install defibrillators in their local area.

Funded by Bradford Central Lions Club CIO and Bradford Council, the Bradford cPAD Scheme has been provided with £20,000 to install up to 40 new community Public Access Defibrillators (cPADs) in the Bradford area.

Joanne Watson, community defibrillation co-ordinator at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “Access to these devices is really beneficial. Cardiac arrests can happen to anyone at any time and action taken in the first few minutes afterwards can make a huge difference to someone’s chances of survival.

“Ideally, we would like to see a life-saving community public access defibrillator in locations which don’t have another device within a 600-metre radius.

“Less than one in 10 people in the UK survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, partly because bystanders are reluctant to perform CPR and a lack of defibrillators. What happens in the first few moments of a cardiac arrest, before the arrival of the ambulance service, is critical.

“A bystander performing CPR and using a defibrillator can increase the patient’s chances of survival by two to four-fold. For every minute someone is in cardiac arrest without CPR and access to a defibrillator their chances of survival drop by up to 10 per cent.”

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity is supporting the scheme by providing the defibrillators and secure cabinets, helping communities with their own fundraising and ensuring that those areas most in need of a cPAD are prioritised.

“Yorkshire Ambulance Service can also provide free training sessions to communities on how to use the defibrillator once installed.

Eric Wright from Bradford Lions said: “Bradford Central Lions Club CIO is delighted to have partnered financially with City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council to provide public access defibrillators in the Bradford area.”

Shine Yasin, president of the Lions Club, said: “This is a project that the Lions feel passionate about, as public access defibrillators are so essential in saving lives.”

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We’re delighted to be able to provide match funding for the Bradford Lions community defibrillator project.

“Defibrillators are important and greatly improve the chances of survival when someone goes into cardiac arrest; they really do have the power to save lives.”

Carey Taylor, Head of Charity at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “A huge thank you to Bradford Central Lions Club CIO and Bradford Council for providing the funding for this initiative.

“Without their support we would not be able to undertake a scheme on this scale for Bradford.”

Communities can find out more about the scheme and how to apply for funding by emailing yas.charity@nhs.net