Defibrillator deployments across the South Central region (covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, and Oxfordshire) soared by 118 per cent during the late June heatwave, new figures from South Central Ambulance Service show. Call handlers directed members of the public to retrieve the life-saving devices far more frequently between 19 and 28 June than in the previous ten-day spell.
The regional jump was nearly four times the 31 per cent national increase logged over the same window. A red heat health alert from the UK Health Security Agency ran from 24 to 26 June, and David Hamer, Divisional Community Engagement Manager for Thames Valley, urged guardians to act. “This surge of defibrillator deployment during the last heatwave shows how vital the work of defibrillator guardians is, so please, please help us and check your defib today if you’ve not done it for a while,” he said.
In the twelve months to June, crews deployed the devices 458 times across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire. More than 8,200 defibrillators are now registered on The Circuit, the national database ambulance controllers use when a 999 cardiac arrest call comes in. The service has noticed a slight rise in devices falling behind on inspections, often because guardians have moved away or handed over responsibility without updating records.
Pads typically expire after about two years, while batteries also need periodic replacement. The ambulance trust continues to back initiatives such as Check Your Defib Week, run by Resuscitation Council UK, to keep public-access equipment ready for the moments it is needed most.
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