Crime team equipped with mobile defibrillators

Cheshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Team have been supplied with five brand new mobile defibrillators.

The defibrillators were provided by the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) in an effort to help those in need of emergency medical attention in rural areas of Cheshire.

Police officers are often the first on the scene to emergency incidents and, in instances where the preservation of life is crucial, every second counts in ensuring injured parties get the medical attention they need before they can be properly treated by paramedics.

This job becomes increasingly harder when, like Cheshire, the region has large areas of countryside where supplies of first aid kits and defibrillators are limited.

In an effort to combat this, Cheshire’s Rural Crime Team (RCT) have partnered with NWAS, who have donated five next-generation mobile defibrillators, that can be stored in the Rural Crime Team’s vehicles and easily carried.

During a presentation held at Police Headquarters, NWAS paramedic Rebecca Clark formerly presented Deputy Chief Constable Chris Armitt and the Rural Crime Team with the kits and provided them with an in-depth lesson on how they work.

The defib kits in question, which are worth around £10K in total and have the power to administer up to 150 shocks on a single charge, deliver audible instructions to its users that walk them through everything from administering the shock itself to delivering chest compressions to the correct rhythm. 

During the handover of the kits, Sergeant Rob Simpson and Police Constable’s John Teasdale, Jim Clark, Sarah Marson and Dan Williams got hands-on experience with the devices, learning the steps needed to deliver the life-saving shocks and first aid.

Following the demonstration, PC Teasdale will be working alongside representatives from the North West Ambulance Service in acquiring similar devices and rolling them out across the force and the wider county.