The world’s largest building society made an announcement on Friday
Hundreds of Nationwide branches throughout the UK have introduced a major change.
The world’s largest building society announced on Friday, August 7, that life-saving defibrillators and bleed control kits are now available at 225 Nationwide branches nationwide. Communities across several regions now have access to potentially life-saving defibrillators and bleed control kits positioned outside Nationwide branches as part of an extensive UK-wide deployment.
Nationwide, which operates the UK’s largest branch network, has fitted the publicly accessible equipment at 225 branches, providing communities with round-the-clock access to emergency equipment, seven days a week.
The installations represent part of Nationwide’s pledge to equip all 605 of its branches throughout the UK with defibrillators and bleed control kits by year’s end, with Virgin Money branches scheduled to follow suit. The scheme is believed to be the UK’s largest-ever combined rollout of its kind and is being delivered in partnership with Visa, with St John Ambulance collaborating with Nationwide to provide life-saving training for staff and local communities.
Nationwide employees have the opportunity to undertake specialist training developed by St John Ambulance, equipping colleagues with the skills to operate a defibrillator, respond to serious bleeding incidents and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while awaiting the arrival of emergency services. Guidance on how to respond to a severe bleed, cardiac arrest and how to use a defibrillator is available via the St John Ambulance website.
In a bid to boost public confidence, Nationwide is also partnering with St John Ambulance to deliver volunteer-led ‘Heart of Community’ sessions, sharing potentially life-saving skills with local communities. These sessions aim to give members of the public the knowledge and confidence to operate a defibrillator, treat a serious bleed with or without a bleed control kit, and administer CPR.
Since the nationwide rollout commenced in June, 48 defibrillators have already been activated, underlining the significance of the initiative.
Professor Andrew Hartle, Chief Medical Officer at St John Ambulance, said: “Every minute counts in an emergency, and having access to a defibrillator or bleed control kit can make a vital difference before the ambulance service arrives.
“By increasing the availability of this life-saving equipment and giving more people the confidence to use it, we can help communities be better prepared to respond when it matters most. We’re proud to be working with Nationwide and Visa on an initiative that is helping put the power of first aid into more people’s hands.”
Full list of Nationwide branches with life-saving defibrillators
East Anglia & Essex
- Basildon
- Bedford
- Berkhamsted
- Clacton
- Colchester
- Fakenham
- Harlow
- Harpenden
- Hemel Hempstead
- Hunstanton
- King’s Lynn
- Leigh-on-Sea
- Loughton
- March
- Ramsey
- Saffron Walden
- Sawbridgeworth
- Southend-on-Sea
- St Neots
- Stevenage
- Swaffham
- Wickford
London
- Barkingside
- Barnet
- Bexleyheath
- Brixton
- Bromley
- Chingford
- Chiswick
- Croydon
- East Ham
- Edgware
- Enfield
- Feltham
- Greenford
- Hammersmith
- Hayes
- Holloway
- Hounslow
- Kensington
- Kilburn
- New Malden
- Richmond
- Romford
- Shepherds Bush
- Southall
- Stanmore
- Sutton
- Tooting
- Upton Park
- Wallington
- Walthamstow
- West Wickham
- Westfield Stratford City
- Wandsworth
North East
- Blyth
- Middlesbrough
- Washington
- Whitley Bay
North West
- Accrington
- Blackpool
- Liverpool Old Swan
- Macclesfield
- Marple
- Middlewich
- Morecambe
- Preston
- Rochdale
- Runcorn
- Sale
- Salford
- St Helens
- Stretford
- Warrington
- Wilmslow
Northern Ireland
- Ballymena
- Bangor
- Carrickfergus
- Coleraine
- Londonderry
- Portadown
Scotland
- Ayr
- Dumfries
- East Kilbride
- Galashiels
- Glenrothes
- Irvine
- Kilmarnock
- Livingston
- Motherwell
- Paisley
- Perth
- Rosyth
- Shawlands
- St Andrews
- Stirling
South East
- Addlestone
- Andover
- Aylesbury
- Basingstoke
- Bletchley
- Bognor Regis
- Broadstairs
- Burgess Hill
- Camberley
- Chatham
- Dartford
- Deal
- Dover
- Eastbourne
- Egham
- Fareham
- Farnborough
- Havant
- Hedge End
- Horley
- Horsham
- Hungerford
- Lewes
- Lymington
- Maidenhead
- Maidstone
- Margate
- Milton Keynes
- Newbury
- Paddock Wood
- Peacehaven
- Petersfield
- Portsmouth
- Redhill
- Romsey
- Sandwich
- Seaford
- Shirley High Street
- Sittingbourne
- Slough High Street
- Southampton
- St. Leonards-on-Sea
- Strood
- Tenterden
- Wallingford
- Walton-On-Thames
- Wantage
- Windsor
- Woking
- Wokingham
South West
- Amesbury
- Barnstaple
- Bideford
- Bridport
- Bristol Cabot Circus
- Broadstone
- Cheltenham
- Christchurch
- Exmouth
- Marlborough
- Paignton
- Parkstone
- Poole High Street
- Redruth
- Swindon Regent Street
- Taunton
- Tiverton
- Torquay
- Torrington
- Weston-Super-Mare
- Weymouth
- Wimborne
- Winton
- Yate
- Yeovil
The Midlands
- Allenton
- Bilston
- Birmingham High Street
- Boston
- Bourne
- Buxton
- Cannock
- Chesterfield
- Coalville
- Corby
- Coventry
- Derby
- Finchfield
- Hinckley
- Ilkeston
- Kenilworth
- Kingswinford
- Leicester
- Leominster
- Lincoln
- Loughborough
- Merry Hill
- Mickleover
- Northampton Duston
- Northampton Kingsthorpe
- Northampton Weston Centre
- Nuneaton
- Penkridge
- Redditch
- Ripley
- Rothwell
- Rugby
- Sutton Coldfield
- Sutton-in-Ashfield
- Telford
- Towcester
- Wellingborough
Wales
- Aberdare
- Aberystwyth
- Bangor (Gwynedd)
- Barry
- Bridgend
- Caernarfon
- Cwmbran
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Neath
- Pontypool
- Port Talbot
Yorkshire
- Helmsley
- Leeds
- Meadowhall
- Rotherham
- Scunthorpe
- Wakefield
