AN urgent appeal to the guardians of community defibrillators - those who look after the life saving kit - in Craven has been put out by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS).

The ambulance service, which in December activated 940 community defibrillators across Yorkshire, its busiest month so far, wants to make sure all devices are registered on the national database, The Circuit.

Towards the end of last year, Skipton Town Council said it would carry out a survey of all of the devices in the town after receiving reports that three were not available to be used.

The founder of Community Public Access Defibrillators UK, Brian Firth, initially said he would remove all his kit from Skipton and Craven, but later changed his mind and appealed to community groups to sponsor devices so that more could be installed.

The Circuit, launched in 2021 by The British Heart Foundation, in partnership with the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, the register is a first of its kind programme to connect all defibrillators in the UK to a single network.

The ambulance service says while 4,408 Yorkshire defibrillators are now registered on The Circuit, around 2,500 community public access and static defibrillators across the county are still to be logged.

Warren Bostock, community defibrillation officer with YAS, said: “Previously all defibrillators were registered directly with Yorkshire Ambulance Service but The Circuit means there is one central national database enabling more efficient emergency access.

“The automated system means guardians are immediately alerted if their device has been used so it can once again be made ‘emergency ready’. It also provides regular reminders for maintenance checks.

“Guardians are responsible for registering their defibrillator on The Circuit and while we can still access defibrillators on our legacy system, we need to ensure all defibrillators, old and new, are connected to The Circuit and available to save the lives of patients in cardiac arrest.”

Defibrillators give a high energy electric shock - defibrillation - to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest.

Defibrillation is an essential part in trying to save the life of someone who is in cardiac arrest, along with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Defibrillators are easy to use, provide audible instructions to the user and will not deliver a shock unless it is required. No training is required to use the equipment.

To find out if a defibrillator is registered, visit: www.defibfinder.uk. YAS says if the device is not registered, it is asking people to contact the guardian, if known, and ask them to register it at: https://www.thecircuit.uk/

To find out about buying a defibrillator for your community, contact the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Community Resilience Department for advice, email yas.communityresilienceaed@nhs.net