New Cambridgeshire pilot aims to save lives
Cambridgeshire Constabulary has teamed up with the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) for a three-month pilot scheme aimed at saving lives.
Officers who are trained in basic life support and the use of defibrillators will now be notified via their work mobile phone if someone is in cardiac arrest in their vicinity.
More than 600 frontline officers and police and community support officers across the county have been enrolled, together with off-duty healthcare professionals. Those who have signed up to the scheme may receive an alert via the GoodSAM app if they are within an 800m radius of someone in need of help.
Such early intervention could prove critical as, in the case of cardiac arrest, the sooner effective cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is started, the better the chances of survival for the patient. For each minute that passes where CPR is not being given, chances of survival drop by 10 per cent.
Chief Constable Nick Dean said: “I’m delighted we can be involved in this fantastic scheme that undoubtably has the potential to save lives.
“Specially trained officers who have signed up the scheme will be able to provide essential first aid if they are close to someone in suspected cardiac arrest. This initial intervention while waiting for paramedics to arrive could make all the difference.
“The preservation of life is a core principle of policing. If officers are in the vicinity of someone having a medical episode it is only right that they do all they can to save that person.”
Nicholas Jones, EEAST IM&T service delivery manager, said: ‘Having worked with the GoodSAM team for over two and a half years, we have proven that deploying our staff, volunteers and other healthcare professionals is giving our patients the best possible chance of survival.
“We have received feedback from our staff and from GoodSAM responders that these changes are positive.
“By trialling the deployment of Cambridgeshire Constabulary staff to appropriate calls, when they are available, it will allow us to get to more patients quicker and save more lives.
“If successful, this three-month trial will allow us to reach out to other partner agencies to see how we can do more to assist our patients for the better.”
