THE news that funding is being put in place to bring life-saving defibrillators to every town and parish in West Oxfordshire is to be welcomed.

Poor ambulance response times have been the subject of much criticism but it has become apparent that it is not an issue that can be quickly resolved.

In the meantime, harnessing community spirit and advancing technology is vital to save lives and buy time until paramedics arrive. We hope residents and town and parish councils will provide cash to buy 30 of the defibrillators. This will create a network that undoubtedly will save lives.

While ambulance managers say the technology does not require any training, we would still urge people to learn other lifesaving skills.

When a defibrillator is not available, basic resuscitation techniques can still play a vital role in keeping cardiac arrest victims alive. Basic first aid skills can also prevent simple errors that damage someone’s health.

But ambulance bosses and their Government paymasters should not see this as a panacea to the vexed issue of slow ambulance response times.

For every life saved, there will be people with other conditions who also need the skills of a qualified paramedic.

Luckily, Oxfordshire is blessed with a major specialist NHS centre, unlike other parts of Britain where services are being axed for regional centres of excellence.

But that will all be in vain if patients cannot be quickly transported to the experts by skilled paramedics trained in saving lives.