Defibrillators installed outside 18 police stations in Hertfordshire

The Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) allow members of the public, as well as police officers and staff, to provide potentially life-saving care in emergencies with support of call handlers from the East of England Ambulance service.

Among the police stations where a defibrillator has been fitted is St Albans, Harpenden, Watford, and Hemel Hempstead, as well as the force’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City.

All the machines are situated within a weather-proof and anti-theft storage cabinet with a keypad code entry system.

The access code for the defibrillator will be disclosed to any individual dialling 999 and asking for an ambulance, and call handlers will support the caller with life-saving instructions while additional help is dispatched to the location.

The defibrillators are equipped with video screens which provide comprehensive instructions to the user and are designed/intended to be operated by a ‘lay person’ with no prior medical training.

How the new defibrilator looks to the public when they go to use it

The scheme has been funded by Hertfordshire’s police and crime commissioner David Lloyd at a cost of £72,000.

This scheme has been made possible after £72,000 funding was made available by Hertfordshire’s police and crime commissioner David Lloyd.

Mr Lloyd said: “This is a vital resource for the public and police officers to enable them to give the best immediate chance of survival for victims of cardiac arrest.

“I would ask people to take note of the location of these defibrillators next time they pass their local police station as they never know when they may need to use them.”