Published on 7th May 2017
The number of defibrillators accessible to the community in Yorkshire has hit more than 880, with 389 new life-saving devices registered with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service in the past year alone.
According to the Keighley News, the Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund has had a positive impact and helped provide numerous devices to community clubs and junior teams.
The fund was set up by the widow of Keighley Cougars player Danny Jones, who collapsed and died as a result of an undiagnosed heart condition in May 2015 while playing a match.
Head of community resilience at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Paul Stevens told the newspaper that the growing number of defibrillators will save lives.
“This is a massive achievement because every second counts when a cardiac arrest occurs. The more defibrillators we have in our communities and the more people trained in CPR, the better,” he said.
In addition to the 883 defibrillators that can be accessed at any time of the day or night, there are a further 2,447 such devices registered at supermarkets, GP surgeries, railway stations and shopping centres, among other locations, that can be used when those premises are open.
The value of having defibrillators to hand was demonstrated in Scotland earlier this month, when police used one to save the life of a 52-year-old man who was found slumped in the back of his car.
The defibrillator used in this incident was donated to the police service by the family of 16-year-old cyclist Keiran McKandie, who was killed in a collision in March 2016.
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