The Department of Health and Social Care is currently running a £1 million match funded Community Automated External Defibrillators Fund.
London Hearts, a charity dedicated to the procurement and distribution of life-saving defibrillators across the UK for both public and private sectors, has been appointed the supplier and managing administrator of this fund, on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.
Defibrillators are devices that apply an electric charge or current to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. The chance of survival decreases by 10% per minute after a cardiac arrest, which means every second counts. As such, readily available defibrillators, both in public settings and within buildings, are important pieces of equipment which can lead to lives being saved.
The £500,000 Community Automated External Defibrillators (AED) Fund aims to increase the availability of defibrillators in public places where they are most needed. The fund will provide 1,100 new defibrillators and cabinets. To participate, match funding of £750 is required for a defibrillator with an external locked cabinet, or £660 for a defibrillator with an internal cabinet.
If this is something your organisation would like to investigate, please see the links below:
- For public access defibrillators, applications can be made at Defibrillator funding for community spaces across England
- For internal defibrillators, applications can be made via Apply for defibrillator funding on the London Hearts website.
Please note, the fund is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so early application is encouraged.