We were delighted to hold our first parliamentary event this week to urge MPs and Peers to support our call to scrap the tax levied on defibrillators. The event was hosted by Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport, and attended by parliamentarians across political divides.
“It has been my pleasure to lend my support to such an important campaign, and it is encouraging to see so many of my colleagues from across the political divide provide a unified voice on this matter. In light of such poor survival rates in this country, it is clear that the Government must act for more defibrillators to be accessible in key locations.”
- Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport.
Scrap the Heart Restart Tax , a British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) initiative, emphasises that defibrillators are invaluable lifesaving medical devices and reducing financial barriers would encourage a broader availability within communities.
The event offered a platform for open discussion, data sharing, and an exchange of ideas on how the government and the healthcare industry can collaborate to make defibrillators more affordable and accessible.
The event was also attended by 19-year-old Jack Hurley, who shared his experience of suffering a cardiac arrest whilst playing football, and how a defibrillator was instrumental in saving his life. Jack and his family are joining the BHTA in calling on the government to act now to protect communities.
“Without quick thinking from those around me and the crucial presence of a defibrillator within easy reach when I collapsed, I would likely not be here today. I was shocked to find out that the vast majority do not survive cardiac arrests happening outside of hospital. The football club’s decision to install a defibrillator in their grounds saved my life, and it seems only logical to me that more clubs and organisations should be given as much incentive as possible to make the same investment.”
- Jack Hurley, coaching student and cardiac arrest survivor
The Irish government recently axed the tax in Ireland, and BHTA is calling on the UK government to do the same.
“Through the Heart Restart Tax campaign, we are showing the Government a simple action to act on our shockingly poor survival rates from cardiac arrests occurring outside of hospitals in this country. Our members specialised in defibrillator manufacturing have been key to improving the availability of these lifesaving devices across the country, yet more needs to be done to make these expensive pieces of kit accessible to the small businesses and organisations that cannot afford them”. - David Stockdale, CEO of the British Healthcare Trades Association