POLICE officers throughout the county could soon be issued with vital life-saving equipment if a trial scheme proves successful.

Lancashire Constabulary have teamed with Lancashire Ambulance Service to issued officers with automatic heart defibrillators - the region's first scheme of its kind. The unit gives officers, who are first on the scene of an incident, vital minutes to administrate life-saving techniques to casualties who may have suffered a heart attack. The First Responder Scheme has proved highly successful since it was introduced in other parts of the country and on average as saved 100 lives a year.

Six units - each worth £2,000 - will be issued to forces in Lancashire; three to officers on the new Southern Division, two to the Motorway Branch and one based at HQ for training.

Ambulance Service chief executive David Hill said: "Early resuscitation and defibrillation is absolutely critical to the chances of a patient surviving acute cardiac conditions. Thanks to this innovative scheme the police will be able to provide immediate help until the ambulance paramedical arrive."

The light-weight units come in their own carry case and have their own power pack. The easy to operate units uses a short electric shock to restart the patient's heart. If victims are treated within eight minutes of collapsing, they stand a good chance of recovery.

Assistant chief constable David Smith: "We are convinced that this machine has potential and we will be following the trials with great interest."

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