Defibrillator placed outside Sheffield museum to help save lives

The device, which can re-start hearts, has been placed outside the National Emergency Service Museum, West Bar Green, for public use in emergencies.

Staff at the museum will run training sessions for members of the public interested in learning how to use the defibrillator.

For every minute that passes without defibrillation and CPR, the survival rate for heart attack victims drops by 10 per cent.

The British Heart Foundation is helping to fund more public defibrillators to create a nation of lifesavers in a bid to boost survival rates.

Andrew Lambert a volunteer at the National Emergency Service Museum and a Community First Responder with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded a grant to help save life.

“The defibrillator will be placed outside the National Emergency Service Museum on West Bar Green meaning that local people have the best chance of survival should they suffer a cardiac arrest.

“We’re keen to get as many people as possible trained in CPR though workshops throughout the year.”

Judy O’Sullivan, Assistant Programme Director at the British Heart Foundation, said defibrillators are ‘the difference between life and death’.

“More than 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital every year but less than one in 10 survive,” he added.

“More people could be saved if more defibrillators were available in public places and if more people felt confident using them and performing CPR.”