Defibrillator Advice
How can I obtain a Defibrillator for my community or business?
You have two options - you can purchase your own defibrillator, or enquire into SWASFT's Defibrillator Support Package.
Purchasing and Registering your own Defibrillator
Should you wish to purchase your own defibrillator, you would be responsible for the purchasing and your own training in its use. You may decide to apply for funding for a defibrillator through the British Heart Foundation or alternatively we could put you in touch with our defibrillator suppliers for a competitive price.
Once you have purchased your defibrillator you will need to register your defibrillator on The Circuit.
The Circuit - The National Defibrillator Network, is a national database supported by the British Heart Foundation, St John Ambulance, The Resuscitation Council UK and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives. The Circuit will link a UK wide network of defibrillators to every ambulance service in the country and the public in a bid to help save more lives from an out of hospital Cardiac Arrest.
The Circuit will help you look after and maintain your defibrillator. You’ll receive regular reminders to check your defibrillator is ready to use and the pads are in date, be able to connect with other guardians in your area should you wish and even organise someone to check it if you’re likely to be away on holiday.
Please register your defibrillator on The Circuit to ensure that we can direct members of the public to your lifesaving defibrillator in an emergency. It will only take you a few minutes to do this.
Please click here to register today!
If you need any assistance, please call The Circuit team on 0300 330 5482.
SWASFT Establishment Based Defibrillator/Community Public Access Scheme Defibrillator Support Package
If your community/business fits some basic eligibility criteria, we can loan a defibrillator to you and provide all of the support to maintain it including pads and batteries, storage equipment, an annual awareness course within the community or work based site on Basic Life Support and defibrillation, a debriefing service should the device be used and we would also list the device on our 999 computer aided dispatch system via The Circuit (as mentioned above) to ensure that any caller in the local vicinity of the defibrillator is made aware of it should they need it.
Please contact your local Assistant Community Responder Officer for information about our Defibrillator Support Package and whether this is suited to your business/community.
This package includes one of the following storage solutions of your choice:
- External cabinet (heated and unlocked). You will need to arrange fitting by an electrician for this style cabinet.
- Internal wall bracket
There is a financial contribution required to cover the costs of the defibrillator however we aim to keep these as low as possible. Once payment is received, we will allocate a defibrillator to your community.
SWASFT responsibilities:
- Be responsible for the full support of the AED, batteries, pads, training, software/firmware updates etc. Please note that the defibrillator remains the property of SWASFT.
- Provide welfare and post-incident support to anyone that uses the AED.
Your responsibilities:
- Identify someone to check the device once a week.
- Book and supply a venue for the defibrillator awareness course every year. The venue will need to be suitable for us to deliver theoretical training through power point presentations and practical training.
Please contact your local Assistant Community Responder Officer if you would like to obtain more information about our support package.
SWASFT Defibrillator Reports
If you are not already reporting via The Circuit, please continue to submit your online report here. Please do so until you are contacted by a SWASFT representative.
Defibrillator Accreditation Scheme Report