Cheltenham sets the standard for public safety

Cheltenham is not only known as The Festival Town, but is also the Defib Capital of the UK, thanks to its strong focus on public safety across the town.

On 24 April, the Public Hearts Defibrillator Campaign celebrated a significant milestone with the installation of its 100th publicly accessible defibrillator in Cheltenham. The event took place at MX by Hub8 Plexal, right in the heart of the town, and marked a proud moment for the community.

The campaign, led by the inspirational Clare Seed from Tidal Training, has been driven by a passionate and dedicated team working tirelessly to make Cheltenham the best-equipped town in the UK when it comes to life-saving equipment. Their efforts have significantly improved public access to defibrillators, a vital tool in emergency response.

Founded several years ago to address the lack of 24/7 publicly accessible defibs in Cheltenham town centre and surrounding areas, Public Hearts has worked continuously to make Cheltenham The Defib Capital of the Southwest. As reported by BBC Points West shortly after the launch night, they have surpassed this goal and Cheltenham is now officially The Defib Capital of the UK!  

The most recent UK statistics show that the average distance a person is from a defib is approximately 726m. 

This equates to an average round-trip of 10 minutes or slightly longer. Simply not enough time in the event of a cardiac arrest which accounts for the national survival of under 10%.

Prompt access to and use of a defibrillator can increase the chances of survival by up to 80% in the 1st 2 minutes, and with 80% of the UKs 35,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests occurring at home, placing these in communities is vital and has both life changing and life saving outcomes.

The UK national database for the registration and monitoring of 105,000 defibrillators is The Circuit. It is supported by all 14 Ambulance Services and is key for connecting bystanders to the Ambulance Service in a medical emergency. 

Public Hearts' success and reach throughout the community is thanks to an ever-expanding and dedicated Public Hearts Defib Family. They regularly check the defibs and clean the cabinets to keep them accessible, available and operational and rescue ready.

Public Hearts Founder, Clare Seed, shared during the celebratory evening that of the 70 defibrillators she is currently the Guardian of, 39 have been deployed a total of 108 times over the last 12 months! This demonstrates how often these are accessed and how vital they are. Waiting for an ambulance is not, and rarely has been an option.

Clare shared many powerful messages to a room full of people, this one was particularly memorable - ‘Anyone can use a defib, and anyone might need one. So let's place them everywhere to give someone the best chance on their worst day.’

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Find a list of the Cheltenham Defibs. Find out more about MX visit the HUB 8 website.