The government is inviting community organisations to bid for funding to buy life-saving defibrillators for community spaces like town halls, local parks or post offices.
Interested organisations can register expressions of interest for the £1 million Community Automated External Defibrillators (AED) Fund.
An estimated 1,000 new defibrillators are to be provided by the fund, with the potential for this to double as successful applicants will be asked to match the funding they receive partially or fully.
As part of the grant award, applicants will be asked to demonstrate that defibrillators will be placed in areas where they are most needed, such as places with high footfall, vulnerable people, rural areas or due to the nature of activity at the site. Examples could include town halls, community centres, local shops, post offices and local parks, to ensure that defibrillators are evenly spread throughout communities and easily accessible if someone is experiencing an unexpected cardiac arrest.
Richard Fuller MP said:
This fund builds on the work of the Government, NHS and others to improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest through the use of defibrillators and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Defibrillators can provide vital life-saving treatment, with latest research showing that accessing these devices within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest increases the chance of survival by over 40%.
To accelerate the administration of the grant, prospective organisations who wish to obtain funding for a defibrillator are now invited to register an expression of interest with the Department of Health and Social Care.
Organisations who submit an expression of interest will be notified once grant applications open to the Department of Health and Social Care’s £1 million Community AED Fund.
The funding is part of the government’s drive to equip the health system with the right technology to ease pressures, reduce backlogs and cut waiting lists, and to improve public access to care when they need it.
Organisations can submit an expression of interest here.
Existing defibrillators can be registered on The Circuit. Fro more information about The Circuit, please read this article here.
