Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Whately and Mary Glindon

Tuesday 7th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

4. What steps his Department has taken to improve survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases.

[The Minister for Social Care (Helen Whately)]

There are 60,000 suspected cardiac arrests every year, and I want more people to survive them. That is why we are increasing the number of defibrillators around the county. We now have over 46,000 defibrillators in England, and in December we announced a new £1 million community defibrillators fund to boost that number by at least 1,000.

[Mary Glindon]

I am pleased that the Government have committed to a £1 million fund to increase the number of defibrillators in the community. However, 72% of sudden cardiac arrests take place in the home, less affluent areas have lower access to public defibrillators and access is difficult in rural areas. Will the Minister make it her policy to require all new buildings, including residential accommodation, to have a defibrillator in the same way that smoke alarms are required?