St John Ambulance Isle of Man has launched a scheme to ensure life-saving defibrillators around the island are ‘Rescue Ready’.

It said it had brought forward the launch after it was revealed that only around 30% of registered public defibrillators are currently available for use.

The issue was highlighted by an incident in Bride when a device was needed to be used in an emergency but was found to have been out of action for almost three weeks due to a delay in replacing a battery.

At a board meeting Bride Commissioners decided to take the machine out of service with immediate effect until the government or third sector took responsibility for training and co-ordination of defibrillators across the island.

It also said the decision was ‘partly due to the reaction, abuse and threats that the volunteer guardians and commissioners suffered following the recent incident’.

St John Ambulance said it had expedited the launch of the scheme to ensure that defibrillators are ‘Rescue Ready’ in the wake of recent events and public feedback.

Guardians of machines can choose from four annual subscription packages depending on their needs.

St John Ambulance already stocks replacement pads and batteries for most defibrillator makes and models at their headquarters and can order any stock that isn’t readily available for delivery within days.

Claire Pickering, of St John Ambulance, said: ‘We take the matter of defibrillator readiness very seriously and believe every defibrillator on the island should be rescue-ready.

‘This initiative is to help support guardians of machines across the island so that we reduce the likelihood of situations where machines can’t be used in an emergency.’

Paul Healey, of Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, said the charity fully supported the ‘Rescue Ready’ scheme and hoped it will streamline the procedure of defibrillator maintenance.

For details of the scheme, contact 674387 or email [email protected]