HUNDREDS of lives could be saved across the county thanks to a donation of defibrillators given to the East Anglian Ambulance Trust. The British Heart Foundation has given 240 of the machines to the trust as part of their National Defibrillator Programme.

HUNDREDS of lives could be saved across the county thanks to a donation of defibrillators given to the East Anglian Ambulance Trust.

The British Heart Foundation has given 240 of the machines to the trust as part of their National Defibrillator Programme.

It will enable the ambulance service to place the semi-automated machines in public places, such as shopping centres, tourist attractions, football grounds and railway stations.

Around 270,000 people suffer a heart attack in the UK each year and defibrillators can greatly increase the chances of survival.

They work by delivering a controlled electric shock through the chest wall to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat after a cardiac arrest.

Dr John Scott, clinical director of the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust, said: "We're naturally delighted to be receiving this additional equipment, which will play a vital part in our ongoing drive to increase the number of patients who are successfully resuscitated following a cardiac arrest.

"The introduction of our community response schemes and deployment of community paramedics has already started to see these figures improve, and this will undoubtedly help further."

The donation to the East Anglian Ambulance Trust is part of a nation-wide project by the British Heart Foundation which will see nearly 2,300 defibrillators placed in public places across England.

It has been made possible through a £6 million injection from the Big Lottery Fund.

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