Basingstoke M&S installs new community defibrillator

The life-saving device at the store in Festival Place, is part of a nationwide initiative by the retailer to equip more of its locations with defibrillators.

M&S is collaborating with the British Heart Foundation to ensure that these devices are registered on the charity's national defibrillator network, The Circuit.

This network maps defibrillators across the UK, enabling ambulance services to swiftly locate the nearest registered device when a bystander calls 999 in response to a cardiac arrest.

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The life-saving device at the store in Festival Place is part of a nationwide initiative  (Image: M&S) The British Heart Foundation reports that more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK each year.

Each minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent.

Richard Stevens, store manager at M&S Basingstoke, said: "Time is of the essence when responding to a cardiac arrest and we want to do anything we can to help and support the local community.

"It is great to be working with the British Heart Foundation to connect with our local ambulance service and all of our first aiders in-store are CPR trained."

M&S is also working with the Resuscitation Council UK, St John Ambulance and NHS ambulance services to ensure all devices are registered on The Circuit.

The British Heart Foundation is one of M&S' Sparks partners, meaning every time a customer chooses the charity and shops at M&S with their Sparks card, M&S makes a 1p donation.

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Since June 2020, more than £80,000 has been donated to the British Heart Foundation, helping to fund research breakthroughs, clinical trials, and vital CPR training.

Judy O’Sullivan, director of health innovation programmes at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We’re thrilled to be working with M&S to register their defibrillators onto The Circuit – this could help save lives in years to come.

"By ensuring the location of nearby defibrillators are visible to ambulance services in the ultimate medical emergency, M&S is providing an invaluable service to communities across the UK."

The British Heart Foundation provides free online CPR training, RevivR, available on their website.

This partnership between M&S and the British Heart Foundation aims to make a significant impact on survival rates from cardiac arrests in the UK.