Public access defibrillators

Background

A cardiac arrest takes place when a person’s heart stops beating and is unable to pump blood around the body. It is a medical emergency that will result in death without prompt medical intervention.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) mimics the pumping mechanism of the heart and maintains blood flow to vital organs. Defibrillators deliver a jolt of energy to the heart to help restore its rhythm and get it beating normally again. For every minute that a person is in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and defibrillation, their chance of survival decreases by 10%.

Improving access to public access defibrillators

Public access defibrillators (PADs) are defibrillators which are placed in strategic locations to increase the likelihood of one being in the proximity of a person experiencing cardiac arrest. Specifically, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are used for this purpose because they can be administered by an untrained individual by simply following the instructions.

There is no official, centralised database which records the number of defibrillators and their locations, but some organisations have launched their own maps such as the British Heart Foundation’s The Circuit.

In December 2022, the UK Government set out details of a £1 million fund that would support the placement of an estimated 1,000 additional PADs.

The government invited organisations to submit expressions of interest for the funding in June 2023. The fund officially launched in September 2023. The government provided a further £500,000 of funding following depletion of the initial £1 million fund, in August 2024, to fulfil existing applications to the fund. Applications for the funding have since closed.

The UK Government has encouraged organisations in England to consider purchasing AEDs as first-aid equipment, particularly in places where there are high concentrations of people.

There is currently no legal requirement for organisations to make AEDs available on their premises, although many have chosen to do so.

Some MPs have attempted to introduce Private Members’ Bills which would make it a requirement for specified premises to provide defibrillators in England. None have become law.

Defibrillators in schools

A press release (July 2022) published by the Department for Education set out details of a government commitment to funding a defibrillator in every state funded school in England.

In June 2025, the Department for Education advised that its defibrillator programme had provided over 20,000 devices to schools.

Funding for public access defibrillators

Some organisations may qualify for funding to install a defibrillator, provided by private sponsors such as the British Heart Foundation, the Premier League Defibrillator Fund, National Lottery Community Fund and AEDdonate.