Southwark Council has installed life-saving defibrillators at twelve libraries, eight leisure centres and 75 out of 90 schools.
The devices, which provide clear step-by-step instructions, are crucial in cases of sudden cardiac arrest.
Council Leader Kieron Williams said: “We are delighted to have fulfilled our commitment to install defibrillators across public spaces in Southwark.
“Outside of hospitals, there are more than 30,000 cardiac arrests across the UK every year, but less than one in ten people survive. Defibrillators are key to improving this statistic.”
All schools have been offered an automated external defibrillator (AED) and only fifteen are yet to have one installed.
The devices check a person’s heart rhythm and administer a shock only if needed so users don’t accidentally shock themselves or others.
Councillor Evelyn Akoto, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “The first thing to do if you believe somebody is suffering from a cardiac arrest is to dial 999, and the operator will help guide you. The quicker help is given, the greater the chance of survival.”
Operating outside the council’s remit, charity director Lisa Pearson has had bleed control kits and cabinets installed on walls and in shops throughout Southwark.
She wants the London Ambulance Service (LAS) to participate in the scheme by directing 999 callers to their locations when someone is stabbed or suffers a traumatic injury.
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But LAS has so far declined to engage directly with the scheme, saying the responsibility for training and dispatch of bleed kits “does not sit with ambulance services”.
