About Defibs4Bristol
Defibs4Bristol was founded in 2018 by Simon Brookes, a lifelong resident of Bristol. Simon has been raising awareness and funds for the installation of lifesaving, publicly-accessible Defibrillators across Bristol.
He also provides free CPR and Defibrillator training to the local community and works on other life-saving initiatives with local organisations.
Our Mission
To install as many Defibrillators as possible across Bristol so that we have a proper network. We also work independently and with other organisations to teach CPR to the community.
Vision
Our target is to ensure that everyone in Bristol is within 3-5 minutes of a publicly accessible Defibrillator. We also want as many people as possible to feel confident in administering CPR and using Defibrillators.
Our work covers three core areas:
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Fundraising and installing Defibrillators across the City of Bristol.
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CPR and Defibrillator training to individuals, groups and companies.
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Assisting with educational talks at local schools and communities on knife crime prevention.
About Simon Brookes
Founder
Simon has lived and worked in Bristol for all of his life and is passionate about helping the community. He's a keen believer that belonging to a community is important and we should all be participants, even if that be volunteering for litter picking or becoming First Aid trained.
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Alongside his regular day job, Simon was a Royal Marines Reservist between 1971 and 2012. As a Royal Marines Physical Training Instructor, he was responsible for preparing recruits to pass the Commando tests in order to achieve the 'green beret'.
For 9 years, Simon volunteered as a Community First Responder with the South Western Ambulance Service Trust. In that time he attended many 999 calls, a number of which included Cardiac Arrest victims and administering CPR.
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As a former first responder, he knows first-hand the importance of immediate CPR and the availability of Defibrillators. Simon decided to take action and believes that every community in Bristol should have access to a life-saving Defibrillator.
Simon is proud to say that the Defibrillators installed by Defibs4Bristol have been used in many instances. Although GDPR makes it difficult to attain the results of patient outcomes, we are aware for certain that at least one life has been saved and that Defibrillator pads have been applied to at least 10 cardiac victims. Simon has been involved in 26 installations since he began fundraising in 2018.
See Bristol Live article on a Defibrillator saving a life at a Bristol pub and accompanying video interview with Simon:
Simon speaking to Paris Troy on BBC Bristol Radio about his 26th Defib installation at Hengrove - 13/07/23...
... And just 5 days later, Simon was invited back in to discuss how the same Defibrillator was activated almost immediately!
Alongside this, Simon has worked with the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) on other installations at the Downs Cafe, The Lamplighters and an impending installation at Filwood Broadway.
He continues to teach CPR to numerous groups, including at community centres, Spike Island, church halls and businesses. He also arranged for GWAAC to teach Bristol Bears CPR and Defibrillator usage on two occasions.
Simon with Pat Lam (Bristol Bears, Director of Rugby), South Western Ambulance Service, Community First Responders and BBC Radio Bristol
Simon belongs to 'GWAAC Heartstarters', which teaches CPR in schools. He is also involved in the 'Blunt Truth', an anti-knife campaign.
Following Simon's campaigning on the issue of CPR and Defibrillators with a local Councillor, a motion was raised for the agenda at the Council meeting in December 2022. The motion was passed unanimously to "Make Bristol a CPR -Friendly City". Councillors were given the opportunity to learn CPR and the use of a Defibrillator before the meeting.
Video recording of key speeches given at the City of Bristol December '22 Council meeting.
Featuring Tim Godfrey (GWAAC, SWASFT), Louise Polledri (Campaigner) at 1:40mins and Simon Brookes (Defibs4Bristol) at 3:20mins
As a result of the meeting and through further talks from Simon, various notable individuals from the community and health services, a focus was put on developing a proper network of CPADs in the City. Additionally, having trained a number of local taxi drivers in CPR, Simon lobbied the council to include CPR training as a part of taxi drivers' licence conditions.
Simon would be very grateful for any support you may wish to provide. Please get in touch to discuss making a donation to our current campaigns, becoming a guardian for the upkeep of the Defibrillators or providing a space on your building to house a new unit in the future. If you already have a Defibrillator inside your building, we can discuss re-siting it to the outside so it can be made available to the whole community.
Thank you
Simon Brookes
Founder
Email: simonbrookes1951@gmail.com
