To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve access to community defibrillators in (a) County Durham and (b) the UK.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
14 September 2021
There have been no specific discussions.
The Government recognises that better provision of defibrillators and increasing the number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation could help save more lives of those who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting. We therefore encourage organisations across England, including in County Durham, to consider purchasing a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment, particularly for places where there are high concentrations of people. Provision elsewhere in the United Kingdom is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Many community defibrillators have since been provided in public locations, including shopping centres, through national lottery funding, community fundraising schemes, workplace funding or by charities.