Restart a Heart By Caroline Isabelle 16th October 2025

Isabelle Healthcare Training is helping raise awareness of the importance of early CPR and defibrillation within the community.

Did you know

❤️ There are over 30,000 Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA) in the UK each year (BHF, 2025).

❤️ Approximately half of all OHCA are witnessed by a bystander (Resuscitation Council UK, 2025).

❤️ Early defibrillation can increase survival rates to 50-70% (Resuscitation Council UK, 2025).

❤️ Compared to sole initiation of Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) being less than 10% (NICE, 2024).

❤️ Fewer than 2% of OHCA have a defibrillator deployed prior to an ambulance arriving (NICE, 2024).

❤️ With every one minute of delay of early CPR and defibrillation the chances of survival decreases by 10 % (Resuscitation UK, 2025).

When I qualified as a nurse in 2003 there were no community defibrillators (automated external defibrillator/AED's). The department I worked in had no separate paediatric A&E (at the time) and traumas went to the nearest hospitals (no tertiary hospitals in those days!). Everyone who attended in cardiac arrest had no opportunity of early defibrillation in the community. The first community defibrillator available for public access was placed near Bristol in 2008. There are now over 100, 000 in the UK. In an emergency the 999 call handler will inform you where your nearest AED is. You can see where your nearest defibrillator is here: www.defibfinder.uk . If you purchase an AED and you want to register it for others to use in an emergency. You can register it with the circuit here: www.thecircuit.uk

It's sad to see that 43% of UK adults have never received training in CPR (BHF, 2024). It's also heart wrenching to see AED's being so underused. When I teach it is very rare for my learners to know the above statistics and information. 

Isabelle Healthcare Training

supplies a range of first aid and mental health first aid accredited face to face training courses compliant with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework and Resuscitation Council (UK) Guidelines,

Disclaimer:  Isabelle Healthcare Training Limited gives this information for guidance only.  Isabelle Healthcare Limited is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made, or actions taken based on this information supplied.