The BHF have partnered with Virgin Media O2 to put more than 200 lifesaving defibrillators in all of its owned stores in the UK.
Virgin Media O2 is also rolling out our first-of-its-kind CPR training tool RevivR to its staff and customers. RevivR is an innovative tool that teaches the user CPR and defibrillation skills in just 15 minutes – all you need is a phone and a firm cushion.
There are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, but currently, fewer than one in ten people survive.
When someone has a cardiac arrest, immediate CPR is vital to give someone the best chance of survival. For every minute without CPR and defibrillation, the chance of survival reduces by up to 10 per cent.
Right tools and training
We are supporting Virgin Media O2 in making sure that O2’s stores and its staff are given the right tools and training to give the best chance of survival in the event of a cardiac arrest.
Virgin Media O2 is also in the process of registering its defibrillators onto The Circuit, The National Defibrillator Network.
Adam Fletcher, our Head of Community Health Programmes, said: “We’re delighted that O2 is equipping its stores with these lifesaving devices and rolling out RevivR to its staff and customers. By installing and registering its defibrillators onto The Circuit, O2 is helping to ensure ambulance services can quickly direct bystanders to a defibrillator in the event of a cardiac arrest.”
“We’re urging every organisation that owns defibrillators to follow Virgin Media O2’s example by registering their defibrillators on The Circuit. It really could be the difference between life and death.”
Gareth Turpin, Chief Commercial Officer, Mobile at Virgin Media O2 said: “We’re using our national network of High Street stores to improve access to life-saving defibrillators and make a real difference to the communities we serve.
“It’s not just in stores where we hope we can make an impact; we’ve trained hundreds of our people in lifesaving CPR and zero-rated the BHF website, so millions more people can learn vital skills or offer help in an emergency without using any of their data.
“With every second counting in a crisis, and CPR training taking just 15 minutes, there’s never been a better time to learn how to save a life.”
In addition, Virgin Media O2 has zero-rated data charges for our website, meaning O2 customers can access RevivR – as well as helpful information, advice and videos on heart and circulatory disease – without using any of their mobile data allowance.
Virgin Media O2 worked with us to understand why defibrillators placed in their stores would be of benefit for staff, customers and the wider community, and the type of defibrillator and storage that would be recommended for their stores.
The Circuit
We developed The Circuit as part of our mission to improve the UK’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.
Its aim is to map all public access defibrillators, so that when someone has a cardiac arrest, 999 call handlers can direct bystanders to the nearest registered defibrillator while they wait for the ambulance to arrive.
It’s estimated that tens of thousands of defibrillators remain unknown to ambulance services, meaning emergency services cannot direct bystanders to them in the event of a cardiac arrest.
Organisations can bulk upload all their defibrillators in one go. It’s free and quick and easy to do.
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