Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has any plans to make Defibrillators accessible with universal codes to maximise emergency availability.

There are no plans to introduce universal access codes for public-access automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Some charities which supply AEDs do so with cabinets that have a universal code, some communities choose to leave their cabinets unlocked, whereas others do not due to the risk of damage or theft. It is for local communities to determine what security arrangements are appropriate for their AEDs.

However, phoning 999 in an emergency allows access to a defibrillator if it is registered on the Circuit. Over 110,000 AEDs are now registered on The Circuit, and the Department continues to encourage voluntary installation and registration.