The staff and volunteers at Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s West Midlands-based shops have been raising awareness of the lifesaving equipment they have in store that can be used for lifesaving bystander support.

The store is equipped with an automated external defibrillator, which can be vital if a person goes into cardiac arrest. Sadly, only ten per cent of patients survive with a good recovery after suffering an out of hospital cardiac arrest.

That is why defibrillators as so important as patients who receive bystander treatment using these kits have a far greater chance of survival.

Mike Andrews, critical care paramedic for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity said: “Automated external defibrillators are vital kits for early medical intervention on those who need it most. They are very simple to use, provided with clear step by step instructions to help maximise a person’s chance of survival. It’s important to know where this equipment is in your local area, so that in the case you need to use them, quality medical intervention can be performed as quickly as possible. The faster a patient is treated, the higher chance they have of survival.”

The three defibrillators are located in the charity’s shop in Merry Hill, Saddlers Centre, Walsall and Queens Square Shopping Centre, West Bromwich and are available to use for incidents in the local area.