Knowing where your local defibrillator (AED) is can be a matter of life and death. Every second counts, and having a map of the publicly available defibrillators in your area can make the job a whole lot easier.
Creating a UK AED map can be a time-consuming business and we have tried to build a comprehensive list of those UK AED maps that can be used by the public (both publicly and privately created)
The Circuit
The Circuit (aka National Defibrillator Network*) was announced in 2018 and is a partnership between the BHF, Microsoft and the NHS to map all of the UK’s defibrillators. It aims to collate all of the UK’s defibs for a central register that the UK ambulance trusts can use. At this time it does not seem to be clear as to whether the data or a map of the AED locations will be made available to the public, a missed opportunity perhaps?
Registering a defibrillator
When a defibrillator (AED) is placed for public use it should be registered with the ambulance service for that locale. Usually, the AED’s case will then be given an id that should be associated with it. If the AED is required any person wanting to use it should call 999 and then quote the code. If the case is protected by a coded lock the unlock sequence will be given whilst professional help dispatched. Defibrillators like these are also known as Community Public Accessible Defibrillators (CPAD).
On AED maps, CPAD’s that are available 24×7 are usually marked in green, whereas those with time constraints are in red.
Use and Placement
If you are interested in the use of community AED’s you might also like this “Life After Cardiac Arrest” podcast episode with Professor Terry Brown, which includes some interesting information about their use and placement.
National Maps
GoodSAM – Good Smartphone Activated Medics, an app that connects those in need with lifesavers. Its primary use is to alert medically trained people to emergencies such as a cardiac arrest, but within the map feature, you can view AED’s that are in your area and also add them to their database. They claim to have a comprehensive list of AED’s and say it is the worlds largest. An excellent app and one that everyone should have on their phone.
You can listen to Professor Mark Wilson, the founder of GoodSAM talk about the app and what it can do…
The Circuit – As mentioned above.
National Defibrillator Database – An excellent map created by the Community Heartbeat Trust, the charity behind the “Adopt a phonebox” scheme for utilising defunct phoneboxes to home AED’s.
Open Source Map – research project run by Dr Robert Whittaker
Minutes Matter – Maps where phone boxes have been converted for an AED
Tom Henson Charity Defibrillator map – Mainly Midlands, but covering other areas
Regional
London Ambulance Service
The East of England Ambulance Service
Defibrillators For All – Peterborough area
The East Midlands Ambulance Service
Tom Henson Charity Defibrillator map
Do It For Defib
The North East Ambulance Service
North East Hearts With Goals
Cumbria County Council
The North West Ambulance Service
Calon Heart – Defibrillators in Wales
The Scottish Ambulance Service
Lucky 2B Here
Trossachs Defibrillator
The South Central Ambulance Service
The South East Coast Ambulance Service
The South Western Ambulance Service
The Welsh Ambulance Service
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service
Yorkshire Ambulance Service
Deprecated
Websites or maps that no longer seem to be updated (As at 17/11/2020)
East of England Ambulance Service – spreadsheet
Lancashire Defibrillator Campaign
AED’s in Scotland – good map, but the associated website seems defunct
Helicopter Emergency Service Equipment
Defib Tracker – covers the UK, but predominantly West Midlands