A CAMPAIGN is being mounted to raise awareness about the importance of public defibrillators.

These lifesaving machines which give an electric shock to the heart to restore a more normal rhythm have been placed in shopping centres, schools, factories, hotels, stations and gyms.

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) wants to make sure they know where all these portable devices are located.

The trust has launched a ‘Shoctober’ campaign to urge everyone who has bought one to let them know where it is.

It’s estimated that there are thousands of these life-saving portable machines which NWAS doesn’t know about.

So if someone calls 999 in the event of a cardiac arrest, the trust can’t direct them to the nearest one.

These small machines can shock a person’s heart into restarting.

If this can be done in the vital first few minutes, patients have a 60-70 per cent chance of making a full recovery.

They are easy to use and as they talk through the process, they won’t deliver a shock unless it is required.

There is no clinical training required to be able to use the machine.

NWAS community engagement manager, Andrew Redgrave said: “We know that many people raise funds to have them installed but what they often do is forget to tell us they’ve done so.

“This means that we could get a call for a suspected cardiac arrest where this vital piece of kit is available and we can’t tell the caller to go and get it.

“The patient will receive the all important shock when the ambulance crew arrives but if they can be shocked even two or three minutes earlier by a member of the public, it can make a huge difference to their chances of survival.”

Paramedics attended 2,127 cardiac arrests across Cheshire last year.

People are asked to notify the trust about the location of defibrillators by emailing nwas.enquiries@nwas.nhs.uk