New life-saving equipment has been fitted to Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s two aircraft – and it’s already proving its worth.

The rapid response emergency service now carries the portable Zoll Autopulse, an automated, battery-powered chest compressor.

The equipment provides chest compressions to patients who are in cardiac arrest and will help trauma paramedics carrying out on-the-scene CPR.

In its first week the Autopulse was used three times by crews.

Pete Vallance, Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) clinical operations manager, said: “By using the Autopulse, paramedics and doctors can reduce the impact of fatigue from doing CPR.

“It also frees them up to provide other treatments such as ventilations, administering medication or carrying out defibrilation while chest compressions continue.

“The Autopulse also allows uninterrupted effective chest compressions to be carried out while a patient is being transferred to the aircraft and while in flight which is proven to improve patient outcomes and survival rates.”

YAA provides a service to 5m people across Yorkshire from its airbases at RAF Topcliffe, near Thirsk, and Nostell Priory, near Wakefield.

The independent charity has to raise £12,000 every day to keep its two aircraft flying and has so far flown more than 6,200 people to major trauma centres across the county.

Pete added: “The Zoll Autopulse will be used by YAA crews in medical cardiac arrests and will be particularly beneficial when dealing with hypothermic and drowning cases. I’m sure it will be a valuable asset for patient care.”