New Life-Saving Defibrillator at Civic Centre

A new community defibrillator has been fitted to the front of Reading Council’s Civic Centre on Bridge Street.

The life-saving equipment - publicly accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week – is now fully operational for use during emergencies.  It can be found just to the right-hand side of the front doors of the Council offices, as you look at the building, and the kit contains instructions on how it can be used if required.

The new device is the result of a tie-up between Reading Council and Tony Jones, a former Reading Councillor and current Alderman of the Borough, who is also a Public Governor for Berkshire with the South Central Ambulance Service, and who is spearheading a campaign for more defibrillators to be truly publicly accessible 24/7.

The overwhelming majority of defibrillators are in schools, shops, or offices - which mean they are not available outside of their respective opening hours.  In Reading, even around the town centre, very few defibrillators are publicly available at all hours.

Each year in England, over 30,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Tragically fewer than 1 in 10 survive. Without immediate treatment, the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest decrease by 10% as every minute passes. Cardiac arrests are not restricted to older people, with children and young adults also vulnerable.

A defibrillator is a life-saving medical device that delivers an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest, when the heart stops beating effectively.  Anyone can use a defibrillator - you don't need training. The 999 operators will talk you through what to do and some defibrillators use voice prompts.

If you think someone has had a cardiac arrest dial 999 and ask for an ambulance - and then ask where the nearest publicly accessible defibrillator is.

South Central Ambulance Service estimate the use of defibrillators across the SCAS region - covering Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Buckinghamshire - was almost four times higher than the 31% increase recorded nationally during the recent period of extreme temperatures.

Councillor Rachel Eden, Reading Borough Council’s Lead for Public Health, said:

““Every publicly accessible defibrillator has the potential to save someone’s life.

“I’m delighted the Council has recognised the importance of defibrillators being available to the public 24/7 by hosting one at the front of the Civic Centre, which is one of the town centre’s most recognisable locations.  

“Defibrillators are one of those things you don’t need, until the day you do. I’d like to thank Tony Jones for his commitment to making this happen. It’s such an important cause and I know he is working on the possibility of exploring other defibrillator locations around town.”

Tony Jones said:

"While some offices and businesses have defibrillators, most are not available outside of opening hours. We need to see more provided on the outside of buildings so that they can be used at any time of day or night.

 "I am delighted that Reading Borough Council is showing real community leadership with this new defibrillator outside their front doors and hope that this will encourage other businesses and organisations to follow their example across all parts of Reading, not just in the town centre.

"As the recent surge in the use of defibrillators has shown, we must not underestimate the need for this life-saving equipment. All too often new defibrillators are provided after a tragedy, so let's not wait for that and help save lives now."

If you believe a person has suffered a cardiac arrest and is unresponsive or not breathing, the advice is to ring 999 or 112 and asked for the ambulance service. They will advise you on what action to take, including informing you on where your nearest defibrillator is.