Clot busting to save lives

Nationally, only 54 per cent of paramedics have received the training.

Steve Blackmore, Swindon station commander for Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, says the drug can save lives if administered in time.

And he wants more paramedics to be trained up to use it.

He said paramedics must first undergo thorough training before they can administer the drug.

"If I had just had a heart attack I would want it," said Mr Blackmore.

"We have a time window of just one hour to administer this drug.

"But it is a drug that needs thorough training. We expect each paramedic to demonstrate competency.

"Swindon seems to be above the national average for its number of trained paramedics," he said.

The Government has previously pledged that thrombolytic drugs would be given to all heart attack patients within one hour of the 999 call.

Mr Blackmore said paramedics must have watched the drug being administered on at least five patients before they are fully trained.

"They must also demonstrate to doctors at the hospital that they can correctly diagnose a heart attack," he added.

A team of 18 paramedics cover the Swindon area.

In total there are around 100 paramedics covering Wiltshire. A similar percentage are trained to administer the drug.

Ambulance bosses hope all paramedics will be able to give the clot-buster by March 31.

The clot-buster known as the thrombolytic pill works by thinning the blood, preventing a potentially deadly clot forming.

High fat diets coupled with a lazy lifestyle can cause arteries to block, making clots likely, say experts.

Before administering the pill, ambulance crews must first complete a tick-box checklist and data from an on-board electrocardiograph machine is sent to the hospital.

There are around 270,000 heart attacks in the UK each year and more than 30,000 deaths a year caused by obesity in England alone.