Life saving defibrillators are to be installed at Blackburn train station and a host of other stations across East Lancashire and the wider county by Northern.

The rail operator is installing 60 pieces of the medical equipment at its stations over the coming three months, following on from 100 rolled out in 2022.

Since the life-saving bits of kit were installed, they have been used 22 times so far; helping provide emergency care to people who suffer a cardiac arrest.

When people fall ill in the community, even with well-performed CPR their chances of survival are around just six per cent, but if a defibrillator can be deployed within three minutes it can increase a patients' chances of survival by up to 74 per cent.

Every defibrillator at Northern stations has a step by step, spoken word instruction manual built in to talk a person through how to use them in an emergency.

All the units are on a national register, and training will be offered by the ambulance service to station staff and local people.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “Our 187 defibrillators are a huge benefit to both our customers and the communities we serve, as they are all positioned in public places, where anyone can use them.  

“The installation of 60 more defibrillators could help save even more lives. We plan to continue to introduce this equipment at even more of our stations.” 

Stations in Lancashire where Northern will be installing new defibrillators are: 

 

  • Adlington
  • Blackburn
  • Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • Blackpool South
  • Burscough Bridge
  • Burnley Central
  • Carnforth
  • Clitheroe
  • Darwen
  • Kirkham & Wesham
  • Leyland
  • Morecambe
  • Nelson
  • Parbold
  • Poulton-le-Fylde