Public Hearts Cheltenham Defibrillator Campaign

“Be about doing something, not being somebody”

Bob Holt OBE

Philanthropist, Business Leader and Public Hearts Key Partner

A bit of history…

As Ofqual regulated first aid training and education providers, teaching learners about how to respond to a cardiac arrest is an essential and vital element of all first aid training course content.

This includes the safe use of an AED – an Automated External Defibrillator, commonly referred to as a defibrillator or Defib for short.

In May 2017

Tidal Training Direct Ltd. wwas incorporated and set up to teach high quality, fit for purpose first aid training both in and out of the workplace, primarlimatly business to business and here in Cheltenham On the 3rd Weds each month we run our  open course in Qualsafe Awards Level 3 Emergency First at Work (RQF) to support staff from businesses in and around Cheltenham and Gloucestershire. Being confident to act as the first part in the chain  of survival can be both life-changing and lifesaving in a medical emergency.

Naturally one of the questions our learners asked during training about the safe use of an AED is “where is my nearest defib?”

2018 No defibsThis marked the start of the Cheltenham Defibrillator Campaign, now known as Public Hearts Defibrillator Campaign CIC.

Co-Founders Clare Seed, Founder Director of Tidal Training Direct Ltd and cardiac arrest survivor Chris Hickey began to raise awareness of lifesaving defibrillators in Cheltenham, sharing these locations with South Western Ambulance Service. Research highlighted several public health key points. At that time, there were very few defibs registered, both with the Ambulance Service/ accurately listed and maintained on publicly available information sites.

Most notably, there were 0 public access defibs in Cheltenham town centre at all.

October 2019 marked the start of Public Hearts community engagement and thanks to the generosity of our Founding Partners, Cheltenham BID we were delighted to facilitate Cheltenham town centre’s first Public Access Defibrillator in one of The Prom phone boxes by Franco Manca, The Promenade Cheltenham GL50 1PY.

We also upgraded the 2 Cardiac Science PowerHeart G5 defibrillators in the Montpellier phone boxes to more current models, and have replaced pads and batteries at regular intervals.

2019 6 Defibs Pre Covid, we also donated a defib in Moon Under Water at the bottom of Bath Rd, co-founded one for the United Services Club and more recently, part funded one for Holy Trinity School to support a child with a congenital heart condition.

“where is my nearest defib?”

Covid changed the worlds’ hearts and minds to matters of healthcare in so many ways.

When Christian Eriksen  had a cardiac arrest during a globally televised EURO 2020 football match, and made a subsequent full recovery to be able to play professional football again, the public realised that cardiac incidents are not solely the preserve of old and the infirm. Charity Cardiac Risk in the Young a charity has been working for decades to address and support the age group 14 -35-year-old, as 12 young people die from sudden cardiac death in the UK every week. Matters of the medical heart instantly became the subject of the topic of choice as CPR and defibrillator searches increased on the internet by 6000%. Suddenly CPR and defibs became commonplace language as the media shared stories and actively promotes how vital skills and devices are.

Great work was also happening behind these scenes at a national level to facilitate reporting and maintenance of defibs for access in a medical emergency.

Historically, there was no connected reporting system that networks all 14 Ambulance Services throughout the UK with accessible defibrillators, accurately recording their information such as serial number pad expiry dates and information as to whether they are public or restricted access. During COVID, NHS Microsoft, Resuscitation Council and other healthcare partners worked to create The Circuit– the UK’s first national defibrillator network.

2021 8 Defibs Coming through Covid galvanised Public Hearts commitment to continue its mission of raising awareness and numbers of life saving defibs in and around Cheltenham.

During this time we forged relationships that have carried the campaign through to the success it is today, making substantial progress thanks to the generosity of our Key Partners and the great support of the business community.

In early August 2021, Bob Holt OBE and Mike Turl each generously donated a defibrillator with a view to having them placed in the community to support this essential campaign. These were both installed on 10 December 2021 and are located at Caring For Communities and People 340, High St GL50 3HW and The Brewery Quarter by The Cosy Club Cheltenham GL50 3FF – marking Cheltenham High St’s first 2 Public Access Defibrillators. The latter being Cheltenham’s most accessed, demonstrating the need for publicly accessible defibs as part of town centre infrastructure.

Welcoming David Jones, MD of Evans Jones to the Defib Family as planning professionals on a pro-bono basis to support our engagement with the local business community in identifying potential locations for 11 defibrillators and cabinets donated by Spirax Group.

These were quickly installed in early 2022 and are all benefiting the community. Our Key Partner collaboration continued, when in August 2022 G4S Facilities Management contacted us with a number of ZOLL AEDPLUS defibrillators to donate from Covid testing centres.

Bob, Spirax and G4S’ community values and commitment shone through and Public Hearts expanded its Key Partners:

Cheltenham BID  Bob Holt OBE Spirax Group G4S Tidal, Evans Jones, Cheltenham Marketing, Borough Council and Homes’ collaboration and generosity assured the future and sustainability of Public Hearts. The welcome support of our Defib Family ( each location housing a  defib) Circle2Success and business leaders including Chun Kong help to broaden and deepen our integration into the community , bringing our progress by year end to:

2022 41 DEFIBS and counting

In terms of supporting standardisation, efficient defibrillator maintenance, location and access, all our defibs are registered on The Circuit – The National Defibrillator Network used by all UK NHS Ambulance Services. Historically, each of the 14 ambulance services across the UK had their own defibrillator database for their area.

For the first time, The Circuit brings this information together into one database having reached the 81,000 milestone already.

When a defibrillator is registered on The Circuit, its location and status is instantly synchronised with the Ambulance services’ 999 systems ensuring that their information is always up to date and ready to help save lives by directing callers to the nearest available and accessible unit in the event of a medical emergency / cardiac arrest. This is vital when moments matter in the chain of survival.

Another progressive year followed broadening and deepening our support base particularly in high density residential areas, community hubs and underrepresented areas, bringing the year end total to:

2023 71 DEFIBS

What a privilege it is to see how Public Hearts is going from strength to strength.

To celebrate 5 years old, our multi award winning, not-for-profit campaign is registered as a Community Interest Company to formalise its community centred structure.

And plans are made to bring accessible to all community heart screening to Cheltenham with the incredible team of Cardiac Risk in the Young.

An exciting new venture for Public Hearts to facilitate and to support increased out of hospital cardiac arrests survival rates by looking at the causation and also being able to provide the equipment to support someone in a cardiac arrest.

Procative preventative heart screening is naturally the next step for Public Hearts and to be able to facilitate this through raising awareness of the great work CRY do everyday as well as providing a financial infrastructure to empower access for all.

On 25 April, we screened 101 young people 14-35 at The SchoolHouse Café in St Paul’s Cheltenham.

It was well supported both by those wanting to be screened between the ages of 14 and 35 and also being backed heavily by the business community, understanding the true value of investing in others.

APRIL 2024 77 DEFIBS

The future looks bright for Public Hearts CIC.

Having installed our 77 defibrillator, we have compiled a map which backlinks to Google, to make it accessible and available to everybody.

This supports the wider work that is done through The Circuit and DefibFinder,  there to provide information accessible to all to give people information about vital resources  in the local area.

Our next screening day is in January 2025 and the location for Defib No 80 is confirmed!

We continue to go from strength to strength.

In the time the campaign has existed we have achieved a lifetime of public health growth and infrastructure, saving lives and making Cheltenham the Defib Capital of the SouthWest according to the BBC.

MARCH 2025 99 DEFIBS

The momentum continues throughout Q1!

On 28 Jan 2025 Public Hearts Cardiac Screening program funded another one hundred young people to be screened at The Schoolhouse Cafe in just six hours.
This screening day saw many more young people coming with their parents, providing access and peace of mind to young people at a vital point in their lives, which is invaluable.

Our donation and installation of community defibrillators also continues with Defib numbers now reaching a sizable No 99.

This year, we are grateful for the generosity of David Allen at Square One Network Cardo Group x 2, Logical Utilities utilities and most recently, BPE Solicitors all of whom pledged their support to Public Hearts at last years’ C2S Cricket Festival with our Key partner Bob Holt OBE.

Our Defib Family is ever expanding, and so are the number of times our defibs are accessed to help someone in an emergency Our founder Clare is The Circuit Guardian of 65 defibs at any one time (ie twOthirds of our total number).

As at 04.04.2025, 40 of these have been accessed a staggering 105 times in the last 12 months. This demonstrates how vital these lifesaving devices are in our communities in the event of a cardiac arrest.
As we start April 2025, Defib No 100 is imminent and naturally it’s a significant milestones for all our Defib Family and our community.

Our Partners and national defibrillator suppliers, Defib Store have designed a bespoke cabinet, and the kit is ready for installation.

Watch this space for more news as we continue to change the face and history of Cheltenham by making it one of the safest towns in the UK – and very possibly in Europe!