§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what targets have been set by his Department for increasing the availability of defibrillators in public places; what the(a) baseline and (b) deadline for each target is; where the targets were announced; and if he will make a statement on progress towards meeting the targets; [151700]
(2) how many defibrillators have been commissioned in public places in each year since 1997. [152306]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonIn July 2000, the NHS Plan made a commitment to provide 3,000 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places throughout England by the end of 2004.
110 sites are now operational across England, with a total of 681 AEDs installed.
447WIn October 2003 the New Opportunities Fund awarded the British Heart Foundation (BHF) £6 million. This award will provide funding for equipment, community defibrillation officer posts and training equipment. The procurement of these AEDs is being undertaken by the Department of Health and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, on behalf of the British Heart Foundation. It is anticipated that these will be available to the ambulance services by August 2004 and all 3,000 AEDs will be in place by March 2005.
The breakdown of AEDs installed at the sites across England in each year is as follows:
- 107 AEDs were made operational at ten different sites in 2000.
- 372 AEDs were made operational at 46 different sites in 2001.
- 200 AEDs were made operational at 53 different sites in 2002.
- There were no new sites in 2003.
- Two AEDs were made operational at one site in 2004.