LIFE-SAVING defibrillators have been placed in Wooburn Green and Bourne End in an attempt to improve health facilities.

The machines have been purchased after council received advice that they could save lives.

One of the defibrillators has been positioned outside the pharmacy in Wooburn Green whilst the other machine has been put outside the Bourne End Community Centre in Wakeman Road.

The device that has been purchased by Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council is called the iPAD SP1 AED, which stands for Intelligent Public Access Defibrillator.

The iPAD SP1 is a nominated device of the British Heart Foundation. It is designed so that it can be used by minimally trained people, using a series of voice prompts and illuminated illustrations to guide a rescuer through what to do step by step until medical help arrives.

What makes the iPAD unique is that it has a simple switch to be able to select adult or child mode, saving precious seconds that are wasted changing other settings in other devices in an emergency situation.

Sue Wagner, Chairman of the Parish Council, said: "Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council are very pleased to have had the opportunity to provide funding for two iPAD SP1 Cardiac Defibrillators.”

According to the British Heart Foundation there are around 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year.

They added for every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation reduces their chances of survival by 10%.

The Parish Council said: “Communities have witnessed first-hand the devastation critical cardiac arrest can have on the families and communities of its victims.

“Our local community now has its own defibrillators to safeguard the lives of adults and children in the community. This was part-funded by the British Heart Foundation; other funding was raised by Wooburn & Bourne End Parish Council.”

The council are now offering free training sessions so people in the community know how to use them if they are ever needed to.

Although, the South Central Ambulance Service have said the better people are with the machines the less likely it is they will panic in a real life situation.

The first training session will be held in the Council Offices in Town Lane, Wooburn Green, on Thursday, May 1, at 7.30pm.

The second training session is to be held in the Bourne End Community Centre in Wakeman Road, Bourne End, on Saturday, June 14, at 10am.

The Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council added: “No need to book, just come along and learn how you could save a life.”

For more information, please visit: www.wooburnparish.gov.uk or www.bhf.org.uk.