The Defibrillators Availability Bill 2017

People are finally seeing the benefits of having early access to defibrillators and people having the confidence to use them. We strongly welcome the Defibrillators Availability Bill and what this means for survival rates.

When a person suffers cardiac arrest, their chances of survival decrease by 10% for EVERY minute that passes. Not great in a country where ambulance target times are around the 8 minute mark. It’s the immediate actions of bystanders and the availability of defibrillators that usually decides whether the casualty survives or not.

The Defibrillators Availability Bill requires the provision of defibrillators in education establishments, and in leisure, sports and certain other public facilities. Naturally, it also requires people to be trained to operate defibrillators — something we’ve included in ALL of our First Aid courses since 2014!

What does the Defibrillators Availability Bill / Defibrillators (Availability) Act 2017 mean?

By 1 April 2020 all educational establishments are required to provide a publicly available defibrillator at their main building. If students are taught at more than one site, establishments need to provide a defibrillator at each of their campuses.

The Bill suggests that training in the use of defibrillators is combined with training in First Aid. Again — something we’ve included as standard on all courses for over 3 years!

In addition, by 1 April 2020 all town, parish, community and neighbourhood councils are required to provide at least one publicly available defibrillator. They also need to make sure people are confident to use it.

The Bill is detailed in full here:

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2016-2017/0091/17091.pdf

As always, if you need any help with anything regarding this, just let us know. We’re always happy to help. Because Life Saving Training isn’t tied in with any particular brand of defibrillator or any other suppliers, you’ll always get impartial advice on what may suit your needs.

So, if you want advice on defibrillators, training or anything else – get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.