Funding to strengthen emergency response and tackle health
inequalities.
At least a thousand additional defibrillators and targeted
support will be rolled out to improve cardiac arrest survival
rates in communities with the poorest outcomes.
First Minister announced
a £2.5 million investment to improve community capacity to
respond to cardiac arrests through the purchase of 1,000 – 1,250
additional defibrillators over three
years.
The funding will also support:
- new Cardiac Arrest Rescue (CARe) Zones to strengthen the
community response to cardiac arrests, such as increased CPR
training in schools. Areas facing the greatest inequalities will
be prioritised.
- creation of first responder networks that can respond to
emergencies quickly in remote areas
- promotion and increased uptake of the GoodSAM app, supported
by the Scottish Ambulance Service, which alerts registered users
to nearby cardiac arrests so they can provide first response.
Around 3,700 people experience a cardiac arrest outside hospital
every year and defibrillators can help restart the heart before
emergency services arrive. The additional defibrillators will be
placed in areas where data shows they are most needed.
The First Minister met Scottish Ambulance Service staff and
cardiac arrest survivor John Sinclair, who received CPR from
a responder using the GoodSAM app.
Mr Swinney said:
"Surviving a cardiac arrest often depends on what happens in the
minutes before an ambulance arrives. That is why we are investing
£2.5 million to deliver more defibrillators into communities,
strengthen local response networks and ensure more people have
the skills and confidence to act.
"Survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have
increased since 2015 thanks to the work of Save a Life partners
in training more than one million people in CPR skills and
improving defibrillation rates. We can and must, however, do more
- and this investment will deliver targeted support in the areas
that need it most.
"We will work towards ensuring there is a defibrillator within
reach of every incident, using evidence to identify the best
locations and modes of delivery. We are determined to build a
Scotland where everyone, regardless of where they live, has the
best possible chance of surviving a cardiac arrest and can live
healthier, longer lives."
Chair of Save a Life for Scotland Dr Gareth Clegg said:
“This £2.5 million investment is a transformative step for
communities across Scotland.
“By expanding access to defibrillators in the places they are
most needed, we are giving many more people the chance to survive
cardiac arrest and return home to their families.
“This funding will allow the University of Edinburgh to work in
close partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service, councils,
emergency services, schools and third-sector organisations to
ensure defibrillators are not only more numerous, but more
equitably and strategically deployed in communities that are
ready to use them.”
Background
Save a Life for Scotland is
funded by the Scottish
Government, Police
Scotland, St John
Scotland, Scottish Ambulance
Service, Scottish Fire and Rescue
Service.
The CARe Zone programme works at a local authority level and
brings together councils, the NHS, emergency services,
third‑sector partners and local communities to strengthen
local-level response to cardiac arrest. This model is already
being successfully developed in Dumfries and Galloway and the
investment will drive implementation nationally.
Community defibrillators are most often housed within a cabinet
in a fixed position. This investment, however, supports the
development of community responder networks carrying
defibrillators, in areas where fixed defibrillator positions may
not be the most suitable approach, such as rural areas.
Defibrillators - BHF
