Many councils and communities in the last few years have been installing a public access defibrillator (or more than one!) in public places. Other communities may still be looking into this provision, or may want to add to their available defibrillators.
Defibrillators can provide life-saving treatment, with latest research showing that accessing one within 3-5 minutes of a cardiac arrest increases the chance of survival by over 40%. If you are interested in purchasing a defibrillator then you might be pleased to learn that there is government funding available, and if you do already own one then you may want to register it on a national database so it can be found easily when needed.
Community organisations are being invited to bid for funding for a defibrillator in their area; get a share of the £1million of government funding available to buy life-saving devices for community spaces! The Department of Health and Social Care is inviting interested organisations to register their interest in the fund, which is aimed at increasing the number of defibrillators available in public places. They are hoping an estimated 1000 new defibrillators can be provided.
Read more and register your interest here
The government has written to all councils encouraging them to register their defibrillators on ‘The Circuit‘. As it stands, many defibrillators are never used because emergency services do not know where they are or how to access them. The British Heart Foundation, in partnership with the NHS, Resuscitation Council UK and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, have set up The Circuit as a national defibrillator network database which provides information on where defibrillators are located.
Registering a defibrillator with The Circuit enables the emergency services, including first responders, to locate the nearest publicly accessible defibrillators.
Read stories from East Budleigh and South Tawton who have installed defibrillators already and please do tell us about it if you’re planning to put one in place.