Metropolitan Police vehicles in Barnet, Hounslow and Lewisham will be equipped wth defibrillators from Monday, allowing officers in those boroughs to respond to life-threatening emergency calls.
The rollout, which is supported by the London Ambulance Service and aims to boost cardiac arrest survival rates, takes the number of borough forces equipped with defibrillators to 13.
Under the joint Met/LAS initiative police officers equipped with the devices are alerted to a potential cardiac arrest at the same time as ambulance crews, ensuring that whichever service arrives first is able to provide immediate assistance.
Chris Hartley-Sharpe, Head of First Responders at London Ambulance Service, said: “Every second counts when someone is in cardiac arrest. The only way to restart a heart is with a defibrillator, so the sooner one arrives with someone trained to use it, the better the outcome for the patient.
“While we will always send an ambulance response as a priority, by working together with the police service we can ensure patients in cardiac arrest receive vital treatment as quickly as possible.”
Sue Warner, Strategic Health & Safety Adviser from the Metropolitan Police Service, said: “We are delighted to be working with the London Ambulance Service to save lives across London.
“Equipping our response team vehicles and station offices with this essential life saving equipment will enable our officers to respond to these critical life or death emergency calls.”
