A PROGRAMME to identify and map the location of all defibrillators across the UK is hoped to save lives in Clackmannanshire by this time next year.

A national defibrillator network programme, which will look at both public and restricted access devices, has been launched by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and regional MSP Alexander Stewart, who continues his work with the charity.

The National Defibrillator Network (NDN) will be developed over the next year in partnership with the NHS and ambulance services right across Scotland and the UK as a whole.

Plans are to make the information available so 999 call operators can always direct bystanders to the nearest life-saving device in an emergency.

The ultimate hope is to improve out of hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.

To that end, the Conservative Mid-Scotland and Fife representative has already been working with Clackmannanshire Council and the BHF to introduce CPR training in Wee County High Schools.

The MSP said: “As many will be aware, every minute without CPR (Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) or defibrillation reduces a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by around 10 per cent and thousands more lives could be saved if the public were equipped with vital CPR skills and had access to a defibrillator, which is a critical link in the chain of survival.

“To ensure that the NDN will work across all ambulance services, the British Heart Foundation has been working closely with colleagues in the Scottish Ambulance Service in addition to the West Midlands Ambulance Service and the London Ambulance Service.

“They have helped to refine the requirements for development that they have already gathered from every ambulance service.”

CPR is an essential skill that needs to be employed alongside a defibrillator.

While there are an estimated 100,000 defibrillators across the UK, the majority are not known to ambulance services.

Figures revealed that only around 2 per cent of people who suffer a cardiac arrest out of hospital receive help from a bystander who deploys a defibrillator.

BHF also secured Microsoft as a key strategic partner for the development of the network alongside tech company New Signature.

Mr Stewart added: “Today’s announcement is just the first step towards the network going live and for one, I am very keen that as many people as possible know that the British Heart Foundation is embarking on this hugely worthwhile and potentially life-saving project.”