Defibrillators (2021)
Request
- Please reveal how many defibrillators are currently in place on the Parliamentary Estate (including Palace of Westminster, Millbank, Old Palace Yard, Norman Shaw North, Canon Row, Tothill Street, Portcullis House etc).
- How often are the defibrillators checked to ensure they are working and how often are they serviced?
Response
In the first instance please note that while the House of Commons and the House of Lords are two separate public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, defibrillators on the parliamentary estate are managed by the Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing Service, which is a bicameral service. Therefore, this response covers both Houses of Parliament.
1) Please reveal how many defibrillators are currently in place on the Parliamentary Estate (including Palace of Westminster, Millbank, Old Palace Yard, Norman Shaw North, Canon Row, Tothill Street, Portcullis House etc).
This information is held by the House of Commons. There are 25 defibrillators in use across the parliamentary estate.
2) How often are the defibrillators checked to ensure they are working and how often are they serviced?
This information is held by the House of Commons. Defibrillators on the parliamentary estate are checked by parliamentary staff and by an external medical engineer.
Since January 2021, the majority of defibrillators are checked on a weekly basis by parliamentary staff. This includes defibrillators in all key business areas, while in other areas which have been closed or where there has remained a reduced staffing presence due to Covid-19, this has not been possible. Prior to January 2021, these defibrillators were checked less frequently than weekly as fewer staff were on the parliamentary estate due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition, all defibrillators are checked on an annual basis by an external medical engineer. This pattern was also interrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic, but a site visit has been arranged for August 2021.
Lastly, it may interest you to know that all defibrillators have an alarm which activates if a fault develops at any time.