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Check Your Defib Week

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One half of the image shows a public access defibrillator mounted on a wall with a white ECG pattern showing no heartbeat, the other half of the image is a hand pressing the shock button on a defibrillator, with a white ECG patter overlaid symbolising the heart beating again

A working defibrillator could save a life, but only if it’s ready. 

Every year, over 40,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK1. Survival depends on immediate action, and on having access to a rescue‑ready defibrillator.

On 15 June 2026, we launched Check Your Defib Week, a national campaign that called on defibrillator Guardians to take a few simple steps that could make the difference between life and death. 

The campaign helped build defibrillator awareness among communities and saw hundreds of Guardians ensuring their defibs are ready to help save lives.

Why rescue-ready defibs matter

When someone has a cardiac arrest:

  • every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces survival chances by 10%2
  • early CPR and defibrillation can more than double survival rates.3

Yet simple issues like flat batteries or expired pads can stop a defib from working and making a difference when it matters most.

Checking your defibrillator is in working order doesn’t take long, and it could make a lifesaving difference to someone like Benjamin.

Benjamin's story
When 17-year-old Benjamin Culff went to start his morning shift at a restaurant on 13 August 2017, he wasn’t expecting to wake up in hospital. Were it not for the quick thinking of his work colleagues and a rescue-ready defibrillator, he might not have woken up at all.
Read more
Benjamin Culff

Take action: Check your defib

If you are responsible for a defibrillator, you have a vital role to play. Although Check Your Defib Week has now finished, you can check your device at any time to ensure it remains rescue‑ready.

Our simple checklist will help you make sure your device is:

  • fully working
  • clearly accessible
  • correctly registered. 
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Defib checklist preview

 

Download our defib Guardian checklist (for print)

Download our defib Guardian checklist (for digital use)

 

 

 

 

 

For more information, take a look at the following publications:

Register your defib on The Circuit
The Circuit is the UK’s national defibrillator network. It allows emergency services to direct bystanders to the nearest accessible device in an emergency. Keeping your defib updated and accurately listed on The Circuit is one of the most direct ways you can help save lives.
Register or update your defibrillator on The Circuit
Not a defib Guardian?
You can still make a difference by knowing where your nearest defibrillator is, so you are already familiar with the location if directed when calling 999 in response to a cardiac arrest.
Use DefibFinder to locate a defibrillator near you

Further resources

Defibrillator

Find out more about defibrillators

Discover more about these lifesaving devices and how to use one.

Animated defibrillator character called Defib Dani is smiling with a text bubble saying "Anyone can suffer a sudden cardiac arrest, and anyone could save a life."

Defib Dani

Watch our animated character Defib Dani take you through the steps to using a public access defibrillator.

Sources:

1 UK out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest incidence (~40,000 per year where resuscitation is attempted) - Epidemiology of cardiac arrest Guidelines | Resuscitation Council UK 

2 For every minute without CPR or defibrillation, the chance of survival falls by 10% - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2600120/   

3 Early CPR and defibrillation can double survival rates - Prognosis | Background information | Cardiac arrest - out of hospital care | CKS | NICE