Defibrillator cash in Wales dependent on registration on The Circuit

The Head of the BHF in Wales has welcomed a commitment by the Welsh Government to pledge half a million pounds of additional funding to improve community access to defibrillators conditional on the fact that publicly funded devices must be registered on The Circuit – the National Defibrillator Network.

There are around 2,800 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in Wales each year and Welsh Government figures show that just 1 in 20 people survive an OHCA in Wales. 

Every minute that passes without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent, but immediate CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival.  It’s estimated that public-access defibrillators (PADs) are used in less than 10 per cent of OHCAs.

We know that there are currently 5,423 public access defibrillators registered on The Circuit in Wales, but we estimate there are thousands more which the Welsh Ambulance Service has no record of – meaning they can’t be accessed by someone dialling 999 in an emergency.

'More lives can be saved' 

In a Senedd debate on 16 September which called on Welsh Government to make defibrillators more easily accessible, with cross-party support, Wales’s Minister for Health and Social Services Eluned Morgan said, “Survival rates for cardiac arrests outside of a hospital setting are low in Wales, but there is the potential for many more lives to be saved. 

"I fully support calls for more defibrillators and that is why I have fought for additional funding of £500k to improve community access to defibrillators.

"Not only do we need a comprehensive network of defibrillators, but also to ensure that members of the public are equipped with the skills and the confidence to use them, as well as CPR skills in the event a defibrillator is not available.

"Every second counts when someone goes into cardiac arrest. We can all help raise awareness of the importance of early CPR and defibrillation.”

Following the debate, she went on to say, “I’m very happy to make that funding conditional on the fact that they have to register their whereabouts with the Circuit.”

Head of BHF Cymru Adam Fletcher said, "We welcome this additional investment, and we encourage anyone responsible for a defibrillator to register it on The Circuit – the National Defibrillator Network – to ensure that the Welsh Ambulance Service knows where it is and as many people as possible can access it in an emergency."

REGISTER A DEFIBRILLATOR