British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru is inviting applications for its Community Defibrillator Funding Programme.
The scheme is open to communities across Wales, and BHF Cymru has said areas with greatest need will be prioritised.
The charity is particularly eager to receive applications from Trevethin in Pontypool, and Gabalfa in Cardiff, as they have been identified as areas with limited access to defibrillators, putting people at higher risk of dying if they have a cardiac arrest.
There are around 2,800 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) in Wales each year, and currently only around one in 20 people survive. Quick CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chance that someone’s life will be saved. It is vital that all communities have defibrillators available to help drastically increase the chances of survival, but many areas do not.
For every minute without defibrillation and CPR, OHCA survival chances decrease by up to 10%.
The charity is urgently encouraging eligible communities to apply to their 2025 scheme. Successful applicants will receive a defibrillator and cabinet, and installation costs will be covered where required. Future replacement parts will be free of charge when they expire or are used in an emergency for up to 10 years.
The awarded defibrillators will be registered on The Circuit, allowing emergency services to locate them when they are needed. BHF’s community defibrillator programmes have helped fund 360 defibrillators across Wales over the past 10 years.
While there are over 110,000 defibrillators registered across the UK on The Circuit, the national defibrillator network, they are not evenly distributed. The BHF has found that lower-income areas need better support to help survival rates and improve response times for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. These areas are often also the places that have the fewest defibrillators partially due to the cost of the equipment as well as the installation.
Rhodri Thomas, Head of BHF Cymru, said:
“Defibrillators save lives and make communities safer. Every defibrillator holds the power to help save someone’s life and is crucial in the chain of survival during a cardiac arrest. We've made progress here in Wales, but there are still some areas without any defibrillators at all. That’s why we are delighted to be relaunching our community defibrillator funding programme to reach the areas where we can make the most difference and save more lives from cardiac arrest.”
Other areas in Wales which have shown to be low on defibrillator access are:
- Miskin, Rhonnda Cynon Taf
- Caia Park, Wrexham
- Albert Town, Haverfordwest
- Llanedeyrn, Cardiff
- Grangetown, Cardiff
Check eligibility and apply for a BHF-funded defibrillator for your community before February 2026 – by doing so, you could save a life: bhf.org.uk/fundeddefib
