PUBLIC Access Defibrillators have not saved a single life in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd according to an official report.

There have been 129 cardiac arrest patients in the constituency from October 2015 until June 2017 but the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust has not registered a single use of a Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) in that time.

Of the 129 medical emergencies, six of them occurred nearby a PAD but the equipment was not deemed necessary in the conditions.

The information, which was attained following a Freedom of Information request to the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust by The Cambrian News, showed there are currently 75 PADs in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd.

A defibrillator typically costs approximately £1,000 to purchase and install.

The Welsh Ambulance Service is keen to point out that somebody may have used a PAD and not reported the incident or not had cause to use the medical equipment.

Additionally, the figures do not include uses of defibrillators carried by Community First Responders and paramedics.

In their response to the Cambrian News, a spokesperson for the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust said: “Unfortunately, the use of Public Access Defibrillators is not recorded by the Trust. The defibrillators are deployed and intended for use as and when the need arises. All Cardiac Arrest calls are coded as our highest priority. However, it is very difficult to capture all Public Access Defibrillator data where a passerby or member of the public has had cause to access a defibrillator.

“There has been so much success with the British Heart Foundation and indeed all the Welsh health boards, to encourage companies and social groups to have readily accessible defibrillators, they are now extremely well spread. It is very good news that there are lot more defibrillators out in the communities, but it would not be possible to check all the statistics. [Residents] may be aware that the machines will tell the person using it whether or not it is required as they detect a pulse.

“As a result, many deployments result in the defibrillator not actually having to be used.”