In vast, sprawling Russia, many people still live in small villages far from the nearest medical clinic.

The situation has got worse in recent years as the government has been "optimising" medical care, closing thousands of rural hospitals and clinics, to save cash.

So now one region has taken matters into its own hands.

Dozens of pensioners, mostly women, have been training as first-aiders and offering emergency care to their neighbours.

Sarah Rainsford has been to meet some of them, in villages near Saransk in central Russia.