Laval is Quebec’s first city to equip police with defibrillators

On Nov. 2, the City of Laval and the Corporation d’urgences-santé signed a protocol of agreement for the provision of automated external defibrillators in 20 or so Laval Police cars as well as in vehicles operated by the city’s Service for the Protection of Citizens.

With each minute once a heart attack has taken place, the probability of survival drops by seven to 10 per cent, noted Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. Hence, facilitating access to defibrillators may help save thousands of lives.

A must for heart attacks

“The goal is clear – to reduce the mortality rate among heart attack victims on the territory of Laval by inserting into the survival chain an extra measure,” said the mayor.

“The addition of automated external defibrillators in vehicles belonging to the Laval Service for the Protection of Citizens is a big must for pre-hospital intervention needs,” said Nicola D’Ulisse, president and executive-director of Urgences-santé. “When it’s a question of heart attacks, quick defibrillation is a key factor in the survival of the victim.”

US was given mandate

For some years now, the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services has been giving financial assistance to the province’s police departments who wished to equip themselves with automated external defibrillators. The ministry gave the Corporation d’urgences-santé the mandate to administer the budgetary credits, the management of the acquisition process for the defibrillator units, and followup for quality assurance in the interventions made by the police.

“By the nature of their work, the police are called upon to intervene regularly in situations where a person has been felled by a heart attack,” said Jean-Pierre Gariépy, director of the Laval Service for the Protection of Citizens.

“We believe that the use of these machines by our patrollers will help save lives.” Laval is the first major centre in Quebec where the police cars are becoming equipped with defibrillators. Starting in 2012, 20 Laval Police department patrol vehicles will be equipped with the technology.