Firefighters on the Isle of Wight are even more prepared to save lives in 2023, thanks to the launch of a new Cardiac Arrest Responder partnership.

The Island's ambulance and fire and rescue services are working together to speed up an emergency response when someone on the Isle of Wight goes into cardiac arrest.

Across the UK, survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are consistently low -fewer than one in ten people survive.

Firefighters from Ryde's Green Watch and Shanklin are now Immediate Emergency Care (IEC) qualified, which means they can carry out lifesaving first aid skills until the arrival of an ambulance crew.

Where is your nearest defibrillator on the Isle of Wight?

Isle of Wight County Press: Ryde Green Watch with (centre, in green) Iain Reeves, ambulance community response officer.Ryde Green Watch with (centre, in green) Iain Reeves, ambulance community response officer. (Image: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue/Isle of Wight NHS Trust.)

Isle of Wight County Press: Shanklin's retained firefighters.Shanklin's retained firefighters. (Image: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue/Isle of Wight NHS Trust.)

All the service's fire engines carry defibrillators, oxygen and other lifesaving equipment, according to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service's assistant chief officer, Stew Adamson.

Explaining similar partnerships have already been in place across Hampshire, the assistant chief officer said: "If we are in a position to help save a life, it’s right that we should respond if we can."

Director of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust ambulance service, Victoria White said she was thrilled to launch the partnership.

From the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, chief executive, Darren Cattell said it would help build resilience.

Every minute CPR is delayed, the chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent.

The fire service's volunteer cardiac arrest responders, will be deployed where there is need for their support, alongside the statutory ambulance response.

Their response will not be prioritised over staffing call-outs to fires but further bolsters firefighters' emergency response skills.