Resuscitation Council UK, British Heart Foundation, Oliver Cookson Foundation and St John Ambulance have published the Heartsafe Communities report today.
The Heartsafe Communities scheme was set up in May 2023 and the aim was to improve access to defibrillators and CPR training and ultimately save more lives from cardiac arrest.
The average distance to the nearest defibrillator has more than halved in one area of Manchester, thanks to this groundbreaking new project.
Before last year, Wythenshawe had too few defibrillators for the number of people who live there.1
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) estimates that the average return distance to the nearest defibrillator used to be 1,850m – a 14-minute round trip.2
The report by the four charities finds that the average distance to the nearest defibrillator in Wythenshawe is now 858m – a round trip of six-and-a-half minutes.
Reducing the average distance to a defibrillator is vital as every second counts in a cardiac arrest. Early CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival, but for every minute someone goes without help, the survival rate drops by up to 10 per cent.
The charities hope the project can provide a model for how communities across the UK can make it easier to get CPR training and access a defibrillator in case of an emergency.
Wythenshawe was chosen as, like many other areas in the UK, the district is an urban area with a high density of housing, a relatively older population and high deprivation - these factors can contribute to health inequalities and an increased risk of cardiac arrest.
Practical steps
To improve access to defibrillators in Wythenshawe, the charities encouraged registration of devices already in the community onto The Circuit - the national defibrillator network. The Circuit is a national ‘map’ of defibrillators and makes it easier for ambulances to find them in an emergency.
The charities also installed more publicly accessible defibrillators in residential areas, as eight out of 10 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home.
Defibrillator owners were encouraged to move devices to the outside of buildings, and where possible, put them into unlocked cabinets.
The Oliver Cookson Foundation has also held CPR training sessions in the community to boost knowledge of lifesaving skills. The BHF’s RevivR and Resuscitation Council’s Lifesaver CPR free online training tools were also promoted at the sessions so that more Wythenshawe residents could learn lifesaving skills at home.
James Cant, CEO of Resuscitation Council UK, said: “Defibs save lives but we know that they are scarce in poorer parts of the UK. Wythenshawe is a great example of targeting public-access defibs in areas where the data tells us they’re needed most. The Heartsafe Communities scheme will be a significant step in reducing inequality and ensuring everyone has an equal chance of survival.”