Defibrillators

This website gives you helpful information but is not for emergencies. If you need urgent medical help, call 999.

A defibrillator is a machine that gives a strong electric shock to the heart. It’s used when someone’s heart has stopped working properly — this is called a cardiac arrest.

Using a defibrillator with CPR (chest compressions and rescue breaths) is the only way to help someone who has had a sudden cardiac arrest.

Sudden cardiac arrest happens when the heart stops or beats in a very mixed-up way. This means blood can’t move around the body. It can happen to anyone, at any age, and often without warning.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the biggest cause of death in the UK, killing around 60,000 people every year. On average, only 7 out of 100 people survive if it happens outside of hospital. But if CPR and a defibrillator are used before the ambulance arrives, survival rates can go up to more than 60 out of 100 people.

We’re running a campaign to put more defibrillators in public places across Portsmouth. This means more people can get life-saving help quickly if they have a sudden cardiac arrest.

Public defibrillators (also called PADs) are kept in locked cabinets to keep them safe.

If someone collapses and you call 999, the operator will:

• tell you where the nearest defibrillator is
• give you the code to unlock the cabinet

The operator will stay on the phone while you help the person. The defibrillator also gives clear spoken instructions and is very easy to use.

You cannot hurt anyone with a defibrillator:

• it won’t give a shock if the person’s heart is still beating
• it won’t work unless the pads are in the right place

View the interactive map of defibrillators in Portsmouth.

This map is not for emergency use. Phone 999 for urgent help.

When you phone 999 to report that someone has collapsed, the operator will advise you where your nearest defibrillator is located.

If you’re aware of a defibrillator in an office, school or community/leisure building you use, please email defib@scas.nhs.uk to make sure it’s on the South Central Ambulance Service database.

Please contact defibrillators@portsmouthcc.gov.uk if you would like to find out more about:

• getting a defibrillator for your organisation, school or community building
• fundraising for a defibrillator
• sponsoring a defibrillator in your local area

We can provide:

• ability to purchase a defibrillator at a discounted cost
• access to a provider to install your defibrillator
• opportunities for CPR training
• details of how you could sponsor a defibrillator
• potential funding for a defibrillator if it’s in one of the key need areas in the city