Life-saving defibrillator map for Portsmouth

A map showing every defibrillator in Portsmouth has been compiled by the city council to better publicise their locations and help plan the placement of new equipment.

Details of the 92 life-saving machines have been collected from South Central Ambulance Service records at the request of a Lib Dem motion, brought in light of the collapse of Danish footballer Christian Eriksen during Euro 2020, to improve access to the life-saving machines.

‘It’s sensible for us to have this systematic plan going forward for defibrillators,’ cabinet member for health Matthew Winnington said at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. ‘Making this publicly accessible means people know where they are when they need them.

‘It also gives us those gaps on the map where we can look to fill.’

He said the information would be particularly useful for ward councillors bringing forward plans to install new machines in their area which can cost £3,000.

Only 10 per cent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside hospital survive but immediate access to a defibrillator increases this to 57 per cent.

Guidance aims to have everyone within 800m of a machine which is the case for most of Portsmouth. However, some areas particularly the very north of the city are further away.

‘To date the installation and location of defibrillators has been largely piecemeal and funding for such life saving infrastructure has been available through ward CIL community infrastructure levy for the purchase and installation,’ a report said.

‘The network has grown and there remains a desire to see the current network expanded with additional defibrillators added to the council’s assets, where appropriate.’

It said the map would help the council have a ‘coordinated approach’ to choosing sites for new installations.

The location of defibrillators are made public through the SCAS Save a Life app and the Circuit website hosted by the British Heart Foundation.

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