A £400,000 appeal has been launched to replace and upgrade 288 defibrillators used by Community First Responders across the South West.
South Western Ambulance Charity has launched its Save a Heart Appeal, which aims to provide volunteers with new ZOLL AED3 defibrillators.
Community First Responders are trained volunteers who provide emergency assistance in their local communities and can often reach patients before an ambulance arrives.
The charity says having access to a defibrillator as quickly as possible can be critical when someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Around one in 10 people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK survive, while survival chances can decrease by around 10% for every minute without CPR and defibrillation.
The new equipment will replace 288 existing defibrillators carried by Community First Responders across the South West, including volunteers working in rural communities.
The charity says the upgraded devices will also work alongside technology used by ambulance crews, providing more information to clinical teams and helping with patient handovers.
Zoe Larter, Head of Charity at South Western Ambulance Charity, said the appeal would help volunteers have access to up-to-date equipment when responding to some of the most critical situations.
“Our Community First Responders are trained volunteers who give their time to help people during some of the most critical moments of their lives,” she said.
“Upgrading their defibrillators will give our volunteers access to equipment that works alongside the technology used by our ambulance crews, helping to make patient handovers quicker and providing our clinical teams with more information to support decision making.”
The charity is asking individuals, businesses and community groups to get involved in fundraising, with ideas including quizzes, raffles, bake sales and sponsored challenges.
The South Western Ambulance Service covers Wiltshire, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, serving a resident population of more than 5.5 million people.
Anyone wanting to support the Save a Heart Appeal can donate through the charity's JustGiving campaign.
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