Are the defibrillators in your community registered on The Circuit?
It takes less than 5 minutes to register a defibrillator on The Circuit – the national defibrillator network, and there is no cost to register. Help us ensure your community defibrillators have the best chance of saving a life.
Thousands of families in the UK are left devasted by cardiac arrest every year. Early use of a defibrillator with CPR can more than double a person’s chance of survival. But if ambulance services don’t know where they are, they can’t direct people to them in an emergency. That’s where The Circuit comes in.
What is The Circuit?
British Heart Foundation, Resuscitation Council UK, NHS England, St John Ambulance, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives worked with all fourteen ambulance services to develop the national defibrillator network known as The Circuit. The Circuit helps emergency call handlers direct bystanders to their nearest defibrillator when 999 is called in the ultimate medical emergency.
If a defibrillator isn’t registered on The Circuit, the ambulance service can’t see it. It could make the difference between life and death.
Addressing health inequalities
There are over 89,000 defibrillators registered on The Circuit. Yet despite this, it’s estimated that tens of thousands of defibrillators are still unknown to the ambulance services.
44.5 per cent of the most deprived small areas across the UK – those with populations of between 1,000 and 3,000 people – do not have a registered defibrillator.
However, we know that of more than 21,000 defibrillators rolled out by the Department for Education to schools in England, over 10,000 are unregistered. It is also estimated that there are thousands of unregistered defibrillators in sports clubs and community facilities across the UK – places that typically have defibrillators.
Registered Defibrillator Distribution per 10,000 population
How can you help?
You can make a lifesaving difference by ensuring your council’s defibrillators are registered and encouraging schools, organisations and community groups to register theirs:
- For defibrillators that your council is responsible for
You can check whether defibrillators are currently registered – visit DefibFinder.uk. If you are the Guardian of the defibrillator(s) then please register on The Circuit. If you are not the Guardian, please ask the Guardian to register. The Guardian will receive reminders to check the defibrillator status, along with other updates such as when pads are about to expire. If you have any questions about registering your council’s defibrillators contact Sarah Black, Account Manager, The Circuit – [email protected] - Encourage your community to register their defibrillators
We have produced this copy for your website or newsletter along with a digital leaflet to support you to introduce The Circuit across your community.
Whether a defibrillator is available in an external cabinet 24/7, or limited hours for example during school hours in term time, please help us to ensure that it is registered. It could make the difference for someone and their loved ones.
