Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) NHS Trust is launching a life-saving app which maps all the 1288 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) across the county.
The Save a Life app tells you the location of your nearest AED and provides cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidance in the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest.
The app is designed to make members of the public aware of their nearest AED, as well as highlighting communities which don’t have a life-saving device.
Paul Stevens, Head of Community Resilience at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said, “There has been a staggering increase in the number of AEDs across Yorkshire; four years ago there were 100 and today there are 1288. This app plots all the AEDs so members of the public can familiarise themselves with the location of their nearest device. We also hope that communities which don’t have the life-saving kit will consider purchasing one via the various funding streams which are available.
“However, the app should not be used in an emergency. In the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest, you should still call 999 and will then be told the location of your nearest AED and the code needed to access it. We would encourage members of the public to proactively use the app to locate their nearest AED so that they can be prepared for an emergency situation.”
The Save a Life app, which is iOS and Android compatible and free to download, was originally developed for South Central Ambulance Service by its partner, O2, and uses GPS functionality to show the location of the nearest defibrillator from wherever the user is in Yorkshire.
As well as storing the details of the 1288 AEDs across Yorkshire, the app contains videos, which demonstrate how to carry out CPR on adults, children and infants, along with a myth-buster section that dispels the most commonly held misconceptions about the risks of attempting CPR. Yorkshire Ambulance Service has verified the location of each AED on the map and the date of verification is included so users can see when it was last checked.
An AED and its secure storage cabinet cost around £1400. The Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity provides part-funding grants for the kit, along with various other organisations, including the British Heart Foundation.
