North Ayrshire Council is raising awareness of the 117 wide network of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) across our six localities.
This coincides with Restart a Heart Day 2026 – an annual initiative led by Resuscitation Council UK which aims to increase the number of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by helping more people learn CPR.
During Restart a Heart Day, North Ayrshire Council is shining a spotlight on the nearby locations for Automated External Defibrillators across our six localities.
Also known as AEDs, defibrillators are portable medical devices that are designed to check a person's heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to restart their heart in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest.
View the North Ayrshire Council AED register: https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/documents/north-ayrshire-council-aed-register to find out where your nearest location is.
Councillor Alan Hill, Cabinet Member for Communities, Housing and Islands shares: “North Ayrshire Council is proud to support Restart a Heart Day and use the awareness day to raise the profile of our AED network across our six localities.
“Thank you to our Community Resources colleagues for leading this corporate work, which has placed the Council in a much stronger position. This has included developing clear guidance, ensuring AEDs are registered and kept up to date on the British Heart Foundation Circuit defibrillator finder, securing funding to strengthen and safeguard the AED network, establishing a procurement framework for replacement parts, and introducing a process for third sector organisations to host AEDs on Council buildings.
“It is encouraging to also learn that in North Ayrshire, the average retrieval time for a defibrillator is now 5 mins 24 secs compared to 8.4 minutes.
“The team has also been incremental in supporting the Council’s efforts to move 14 of its AEDs to external cabinets so that they provide 24/7 unrestricted access and are set to move an additional 21 to external cabinets by the end of this financial year.
“Work will also continue to support the training of colleagues and residents alike who want to become Resus Ready and confident in the use of AEDs and CPR to save a life.”
In addition to the Council website’s AED Register, all of North Ayrshire’s defibrillators owned and registered by North Ayrshire Council, are visible on The Circuit – a British Heart Foundation locator tool: https://thecircuit.uk/ to support emergency services and members of the public to access their nearest UK AED.