Improving cardiac arrest survival rates

26 Feb 2026 11:02 AM

Funding to strengthen emergency response and tackle health inequalities.

At least a thousand additional defibrillators and targeted support will be rolled out to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in communities with the poorest outcomes.

First Minister John Swinney announced a £2.5 million investment to improve community capacity to respond to cardiac arrests through the purchase of 1,000 – 1,250 additional defibrillators over three years.

The funding will also support:

Around 3,700 people experience a cardiac arrest outside hospital every year and defibrillators can help restart the heart before emergency services arrive. The additional defibrillators will be placed in areas where data shows they are most needed.

The First Minister met Scottish Ambulance Service staff and cardiac arrest survivor John Sinclair, who received CPR from a responder using the GoodSAM app.

Mr Swinney said:

"Surviving a cardiac arrest often depends on what happens in the minutes before an ambulance arrives. That is why we are investing £2.5 million to deliver more defibrillators into communities, strengthen local response networks and ensure more people have the skills and confidence to act.

"Survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have increased since 2015 thanks to the work of Save a Life partners in training more than one million people in CPR skills and improving defibrillation rates. We can and must, however, do more - and this investment will deliver targeted support in the areas that need it most.

"We will work towards ensuring there is a defibrillator within reach of every incident, using evidence to identify the best locations and modes of delivery. We are determined to build a Scotland where everyone, regardless of where they live, has the best possible chance of surviving a cardiac arrest and can live healthier, longer lives."

Chair of Save a Life for Scotland Dr Gareth Clegg said:

“This £2.5 million investment is a transformative step for communities across Scotland.

“By expanding access to defibrillators in the places they are most needed, we are giving many more people the chance to survive cardiac arrest and return home to their families.

“This funding will allow the University of Edinburgh to work in close partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service, councils, emergency services, schools and third-sector organisations to ensure defibrillators are not only more numerous, but more equitably and strategically deployed in communities that are ready to use them.”

Background

Save a Life for Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government, Police Scotland, St John Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The CARe Zone programme works at a local authority level and brings together councils, the NHS, emergency services, third‑sector partners and local communities to strengthen local-level response to cardiac arrest. This model is already being successfully developed in Dumfries and Galloway and the investment will drive implementation nationally.

Community defibrillators are most often housed within a cabinet in a fixed position. This investment, however, supports the development of community responder networks carrying defibrillators, in areas where fixed defibrillator positions may not be the most suitable approach, such as rural areas.

Defibrillators – BHF