HOTELS in Brighton and Hove could be getting defibrillators installed as The Argus Save A Life campaign gathers momentum.

Twenty-five schools, businesses, sports clubs, charities and groups across Sussex have now been added to a roll of honour of organisations who have pledged to have the machines on their premises.

Members of the Brighton and Hove Hotels Association have now thrown their weight behind the campaign after a presentation about the machines at a recent meeting.

Chairman Jeremy Ogden said: “There was general support for having them from the hoteliers present.

“We are now looking at opportunities to buy them whether it be individually or in groups of guesthouses and where they might be located.”

The campaign was launched as there are up to 1,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Sussex every year and about 20 per cent of these occur outside the home, often affecting younger age groups.

Survival rates for these patients are currently just five to ten per cent compared with places such as Scandinavia and north America, where the figure more than doubles to 20 per cent or higher.

Our campaign is calling on hotels, pubs, supermarkets, shop owners, traders, office workers, community organisations, libraries, gyms, schools, colleges and other locations throughout the county to have defibrillators installed on their premises.

The aim is to ensure all communities have a defibrillator within easy distance if a person’s heart suddenly stops.

The machines cost £850 and are simple and safe to use.

People do not need training to use them as an automated voice issues directions.

The machine will not work unless it can detect an electric shock is needed so there is no risk of harming anyone.

Investing in a defibrillator could dramatically increase the number of cardiac arrest patients who recover.

People are also being urged to learn how to give basic chest compressions to help keep blood flowing through the body when the heart stops.

The campaign is backed by South East Coast Ambulance Service, East Sussex High Sheriff Juliet Smith and renowned cardiologist Douglas Chamberlain.