MORE defibrillators will be fitted across the area to counter problems caused by poor ambulance response times.

Cotswold District Council cabinet is proposing that each councillor should be given £2,000 to help install new defibrillators across the district.

The effort comes after council leader Cllr Lynden Stowe hit out at the senior management of South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST) for poor ambulance response times.

Cllr Stowe said: "I recently reviewed ambulance response times in the district over the last decade and it was clear that ambulance crews will continue to face considerable challenges in meeting target times for the highest priority emergency calls, particularly in the north.

"Increasing the number of defibrillators in every ward should help to alleviate this problem by providing reassurance that life-saving equipment is relatively easy to hand in the event of a medical emergency.”

Cllr Stowe believes that the money will lead to several more defibrillators in each ward.

Cabinet member for Health and Leisure, Cllr Alison Coggins, added: “We want to provide every CDC councillor with the means to improve the provision of defibrillators in their ward, and I am sure that they will be keen to work with local residents to make this happen as quickly as possible.

"There is hard evidence to show that defibrillators save lives and we want to ensure that many people in the Cotswolds, especially those who are elderly or vulnerable have easy access to the equipment.”

Figures for April 1 to September 30 2015 for the Cotswolds showed that against a target of 75 percent success SWAST only achieved eight minute response times to the most serious category of injuries 46 percent of the time.

Numbers have improved slightly, but Cllr Stowe added: "This is still obviously not good enough."

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service, said: “In the face of rising public demand and expectations, a finite resource and the challenges of investment in the ambulance service, the trust is taking part in the national NHS ambulance response programme which aims to improve response times to critically ill patients and make sure the most appropriate response is provided for each patient first time.

“The Trust continues to work closely with commissioners, other emergency services partners, NHS colleagues and members of the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee to ensure that the best possible services are available to local residents.

" There are a total of 258 defibrillators across Gloucestershire more than any other county within the trust’s operational area there are also more than 60 responder schemes operating across Gloucestershire.

"This includes Community First Responders and Fire Co-Responders, who attend incidents like cardiac arrests for example, and provide basic life support until an ambulance arrives. We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank them for their support.”