Around 3,700 people experience a cardiac arrest outside hospital every year and defibrillators can help restart the heart before emergency services arrive.

The funding will also support:

• new Cardiac Arrest Rescue (CARe) Zones to strengthen the community response to cardiac arrests, such as increased CPR training in schools. Areas facing the greatest inequalities will be prioritised
• creation of first responder networks that can respond to emergencies quickly in remote areas
• promotion and increased uptake of the GoodSAM app, supported by the Scottish Ambulance Service, which alerts registered users to nearby cardiac arrests so they can provide first response.

Swinney said: ‘Surviving a cardiac arrest often depends on what happens in the minutes before an ambulance arrives. That is why we are investing £2.5m to deliver more defibrillators into communities, strengthen local response networks and ensure more people have the skills and confidence to act.

‘Survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have increased since 2015 thanks to the work of Save a Life partners in training more than one million people in CPR skills and improving defibrillation rates. We can and must, however, do more - and this investment will deliver targeted support in the areas that need it most.

‘We will work towards ensuring there is a defibrillator within reach of every incident, using evidence to identify the best locations and modes of delivery. We are determined to build a Scotland where everyone, regardless of where they live, has the best possible chance of surviving a cardiac arrest and can live healthier, longer lives.'

Chair of Save a Life for Scotland, Dr Gareth Clegg, said: ‘By expanding access to defibrillators in the places they are most needed, we are giving many more people the chance to survive cardiac arrest and return home to their families.

‘This funding will allow the University of Edinburgh to work in close partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service, councils, emergency services, schools and third-sector organisations to ensure defibrillators are not only more numerous, but more equitably and strategically deployed in communities that are ready to use them.'