Defibrillators: What you need to know

On TV, using a defibrillator looks pretty straightforward, but in a real life cardiac arrest situation would you know what to do and, more importantly, where your nearest defibrillator was?  

If the answer’s no, then you’re not alone. Recent data showed that 61% of people would not feel confident enough to use a defibrillator if the need arose. 

Restart a Heart Day is about raising awareness of the important role defibrillators can play in saving the life of a cardiac arrest patient, and the good news is once you call 999, you’ll have someone with you on the phone to guide you through the process. 

 Jon Needle, a community response manager with East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) has recorded a short film explaining the support that our call handlers provide to callers, helping them locate a defibrillator, accessing it, using it and, if necessary, administering further CPR. 

All registered defibrillators can be found on www.defibfinder.uk and can be registered at www.thecircuit.uk.  
The Circuit is a national defibrillator network that any call handler in the country can see. There are over 6,700 registered defibrillators registered the Circuit in the east of England.   

Jon said, ‘The chain of survival that needs to be in place to survive a cardiac arrest starts with early access to a patient and early CPR.
The only way we can achieve that is by having as many people as possible trained in how to do CPR.’