LIFE-SAVING equipment has now been installed at bus stations across the Black Country for use in the event of a cardiac emergency.

Midlands Centro has kitted out stations at Stourbridge, Merry Hill, Dudley and Halesowen – and six others across the West Midlands – with new automated external defibrillators which it has bought from the British Heart Foundation.

The high-tech devices, which can be used to ‘shock’ those suffering a heart-stopping emergency back to life, have been installed after a passenger who suffered a cardiac arrest at Wolverhampton Bus Station was saved with a defibrillator from a nearby railway station.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has also trained up bus staff in basic first aid, CPR and how to use the devices – as well as donating one further defibrillator to the project.

Andy Jeynes, the ambulance service’s community response manager, said: “With the number of people that pass through bus stations each day, it makes perfect sense to have defibrillators on hand in case someone suffers a cardiac arrest. The quicker we can start CPR the better the chances of survival.”

Dave Hadley, Centro health and safety manager, added: “We hope of course that they will never need to be used, but it should be reassuring to both our own employees and the travelling public to know that if there is a need we have the equipment and the skills available to help. This availability is a welcome addition to the first aid service we already provide at our bus stations, an excellent example of us giving something back to the community we serve.”

A defibrillator has also been installed at Centro’s head office in Birmingham as part of the life-saving scheme.