AN invaluable piece of lifesaving equipment has been installed in Wallasey town hall this week.

Wirral’s mayor, Councillor Dave Mitchell, accepted the donation of a new defibrillator on behalf of the council on Tuesday and the machine is now in place to provide assistance in the event that a member of staff or visitor suffers a cardiac arrest.

Working closely with the council’s health and safety team, North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has supplied 14 of the 18 brand new defibrillators that are now being located in council buildings across the borough throughout April.

The other four new machines have been provided thanks to funding from the Public Health Outcomes Fund.

The 18 new defibrillators are in addition to the 11 locations – mainly sports centres and lifeguard points - where equipment is already in place.

Robert Hussey, community resuscitation manager for NWAS, said: “A defibrillator delivers an electric shock to the heart when someone is having a cardiac arrest.

“Every single minute that someone who goes into cardiac arrest has without resuscitation or defibrillation reduces their chance of survival by 10%, hence why it is crucial to have as many of these machines publicly available as possible.”

Wirral’s mayor, Cllr Mitchell, added: “The importance of these machines in saving people’s lives cannot be underestimated, as I know from personal experience.

“We are grateful that thanks to the hard work of Council officers, backed by the support of the North West Ambulance Service and the Public Health Outcomes Fund, we now have many publicly-accessible buildings equipped with defibrillators.”

The machines themselves are designed to be able to be used by anyone in the case of an emergency.

However, some awareness training on using the equipment will be provided to employees and will also be incorporated into existing first aid training that staff already receive.

Where are Wirral's defibrillators located?