Registering your defibrillator is easy, all you need to have at hand is:

• The brand, model and serial number of your defibrillator
• The specific location of your defibrillator and any access details, i.e. times when the defibrillator is accessible, if its accessible to the public or in a restricted area, if its in a locked cabinet – the code to access it
• The status of your defibrillator – when it was last checked, the pad expiry date and if you also have paediatric pads.

Yes, there are two different types of account you can choose from when registering.

Under a Guardian account, you can register up to 5 defibrillators, for 5 or more, you can register under an Organisation account.

No, your defibrillator doesn’t need to be available 24 hours a day to register it on The Circuit.

You can state when the defibrillator is accessible and set the appropriate times, dates and date ranges when the defibrillator is available or unavailable when registering your device.

As a defibrillator guardian, you are responsible for keeping the information about your defibrillator on The Circuit up to date, including access hours, location and status of your defibrillator. To help with this, The Circuit will send reminders every 90 days to inspect your defibrillator and update the status of your defibrillator.

When you register your defibrillator, you are asked to enter the pad expiry dates. You will receive a reminder email when your pads are due to expire so that you can replace them. Once you have replaced the pads you can then update the pad expiry date for your device on The Circuit.

You will receive an email to inform you when your defibrillator has been deployed by the ambulance service in an emergency. Please note, the device may not actually have been used, but you will still be required to check it in person and make it emergency ready again.

For more information about defibrillator maintenance, read our guide to help you perform your inspections. If you need replacement pads or batteries, browse our range of defibrillator consumables.

The Circuit is primarily to help defibrillator Guardians register their devices and make sure they’re ready to be used in an emergency. Once registered on The Circuit, the defibrillator is visible to NHS ambulance services who can direct callers to its location so it can be used to help save lives.

No, The Circuit is the same as the 14 different schemes that ambulance services previously ran independently, where individuals and organisations who connected their defibrillators to the ambulance services, and now the Circuit, retain full responsibility for their property.

No, however some organisations are expected to have appropriate equipment in place, and this may include defibrillators. This is to provide appropriate care for people they are responsible for, e.g., residents in a care home or patients in a doctors or dentist surgery. These organisations are expected to understand their liabilities and comply with relevant legislation. If an organisation is in doubt about their liabilities regarding defibrillator provision, they should obtain appropriate professional or legal advice.

Once connected, The Circuit will notify guardians when to check their defibrillators, when to replace pads and, when one of your defibrillators is deployed by the ambulance service. This enables the organisation to check that it has been returned, cleaned and any consumables replaced. This increases the likelihood that any obligation to your employees, customers and visitors can be met. If the defibrillator is not operational for a short period of time, e.g., if its damaged or the building is temporarily closed, you can update the status of your defibrillator on the Circuit and indicate the reason why. If the defibrillator is to be permanently unavailable, e.g., business closure, then you can decommission it and record the reason and it will no longer be live on The Circuit or the ambulance service system

It is entirely down to the organisation concerned and the situation. The defibrillator can be handed over to a bystander directed to collect it by the ambulance service, but many organisations have trained first aiders and fully support them to help save lives in their community.

In most cases defibrillators are returned to the place they were collected from by the person who originally retrieved it or another bystander. Occasionally if the defibrillator has been used either successfully or unsuccessfully, it may be retained by the ambulance service so they can retrieve important data relating to the patient treated. In these cases, the ambulance service will return it as quickly as possible and normally within a day or two.

If for any reason the defibrillator is not returned, the ambulance services and other appropriate agencies, such as the police, will be able to track down the owner through the details registered on the Circuit.

We would recommend that defibrillators are labelled with relevant contact details.

The defibrillator and all its consumable parts remain the responsibility of the organisation. This includes replacing pads if they have been used or if they expire.

Need replacement pads or battery? Browse our range of defibrillator consumables

This is entirely dependent on its location. In a very busy place, such as a shopping centre or major transport hub, a defibrillator may be deployed monthly and used several times a year. Many defibrillators have been in situ for several years without use.

Normally it will be a member of the public. Ambulance services have their own more capable defibrillators, but it can take precious time for them to respond. Organisations making their defibrillators available through the Circuit are helping bystanders and first aiders to provide a potentially lifesaving “shock” minutes before the ambulance service arrives. Each minute earlier that shock is delivered significantly increases the chances of a person surviving a cardiac arrest.