A south west ambulance charity has received £142,000 to help reduce the number of fatal out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
The funding was generated through Omaze's Million Pound House Draw, which raised £2.6 million to support the vital work of NHS Ambulance Charities in the UK.
Working with 13 NHS ambulance charities across the country, the fund is designed to build community resilience and equip more people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to respond in an emergency.
Zoe Larter, head of the South Western Ambulance Charity, said: “We are incredibly grateful to NHS Charities Together and Omaze for their generous support and funding. This grant will allow us to strengthen our work in equipping communities with the skills and resources needed to respond effectively in emergencies. By improving access to defibrillators, providing essential training, supporting our volunteer Community First Responders and with particular focus on ensuring health equity, we can help to save more lives across the South West.”
Currently, only one in ten people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive to return home to their families. However, rapid action – including early recognition, calling for help, CPR and defibrillation – can significantly improve survival rates. Timely access to defibrillation, for instance, can increase survival chances to more than 50 per cent.
The community ambassadors will be volunteers who will be trained as Basic Life Support (BLS) instructors so they can deliver standardised CPR and defibrillation training with the aim of increasing confidence and competence, ensuring more people are prepared to act effectively in an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest situation.
Community response vehicles will allow volunteers to reach patients quickly and provide vital support before an ambulance arrives.