Gareth Davies MP has welcomed that an estimated 1,000 new life-saving defibrillators will be funded for community spaces across England through a £1 million fund to increase the number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will invest the funding through an independent partner who will manage grant applications from bidding organisations. DHSC will ask the prospective partner to match the funding they receive to potentially double the number of new defibrillators created by the fund.
The fund will be looking for applications for groups who wish to secure a defibrillator, with suggested examples including town halls and community centres, local shops, and nature parks. The aim is to ensure that defibrillators are evenly spread throughout communities and easily accessible if someone is experiencing an unexpected cardiac arrest.
The independent partner managing the fund will be announced in due course and will work with the DHSC to ensure that new defibrillators in the community are accessible on a 24/7 basis and spread to reach all communities across our country.
Gareth said:
“I am delighted that the Government has decided to launch this fund to ensure that life-saving equipment is spread across our country, including in shops and community areas locally.
I will ensure that local groups and businesses are made aware of how they can apply once the details are released in due course.”
