Portsmouth City Council draws up defibrillator map

A map has been drawn up showing the location of every defibrillator in a city as part of a plan to help save more people who suffer cardiac arrests.

Portsmouth City Council originally decided to create the map after the collapse of Danish footballer Christian Eriksen at last year's Euro 2020.

The authority has used South Central Ambulance Service's records to plot where the 92 life-saving machines are.

It said it hoped this would help it to increase awareness and plan new ones.

The council used data from South Central Ambulance Service to compile the map

The council said the information would be particularly useful for ward councillors bringing forward plans to install new defibrillators, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The use of the machines hugely increases people's survival chances if they suffer a cardiac arrest.

A council report on the map said only 10% of people who suffer cardiac arrests outside hospital survive but immediate access to a defibrillator increases this to 57%.

The council decided to proceed with the map after a defibrillator was used to save Christian Eriksen at Euro 2020

Matthew Winnington, the council's cabinet member for health, said: "It's sensible for us to have this systematic plan going forward for defibrillators.

"Making this publicly accessible means people know where they are when they need them. It also gives us those gaps on the map where we can look to fill."

The location of defibrillators are made public through South Central Ambulance Service's Save a Life app and The Circuit website hosted by the British Heart Foundation.