Duston Parish Council has fitted GPS tracking technology to all seven of its publicly accessible defibrillators in a bid to ensure the life-saving devices can be quickly recovered and returned to service after use.

The council has installed DefibTrack, a tracking system developed by Northamptonshire-based Turtle Medical, across its network of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

The technology allows the council to monitor the location of each defibrillator through an online portal. If a device is moved from its cabinet, an alert is automatically sent to the custodian, while regular automated check-ins confirm the defibrillator remains in place.

The move follows the parish council's decision to strengthen oversight of its defibrillator network after learning about the system while ordering replacement AED components from Turtle Medical.

The emergency station at Duston Village Bakery containing an AED with DefibTrack, a bleed control kt and a first aid kit. L to R - Llewyn Mitchell, Duston Parish Council’s Estate Officer, Chair of the Parish Council, Jan Ennis-Clark and Jenni Smith, Duston Village Bakery

placeholder image — The emergency station at Duston Village Bakery containing an AED with DefibTrack, a bleed control kt and a first aid kit. L to R - Llewyn Mitchell, Duston Parish Council’s Estate Officer, Chair of the Parish Council, Jan Ennis-Clark and Jenni Smith, Duston Village Bakery

Duston Parish Council's estates officer, Llewyn Mitchell, said the system had been straightforward to install and was already providing reassurance.

He said: "We found Turtle Medical as a helpful local supplier some time ago and I wanted more information about their new DefibTrack system as soon as I saw it on their website. It has been very simple to set up and all seven of our public access defibrillators are now tracked by GPS.

"I undertake the necessary manual checks once a month but I now check the DefibTrack online portal when I get into the office each morning and I know I'll get an alert if one moves."

Mr Mitchell said the technology would help ensure defibrillators remain available for future emergencies.

The emergency station at Duston Village Hall containing a defibrillator fitted with DefibTrack. L to R - Llewyn Mitchell, Duston Parish Council’s Estate Officer and Chair of the Parish Council, Jan Ennis-Clark

"We thought DefibTrack was a wonderful idea because every AED needs to be visible on The Circuit and rescue ready all of the time," he said.

"Now, if one of our defibs is used, we don't have to wait days or weeks to get it back. We can see exactly where it is on the map, recover it and get it back in its cabinet prepared for another emergency."

Defibrillators typically cost between £1,000 and £2,000, with the technology also helping to protect the equipment against theft or being misplaced after being taken into hospital with a patient.

Mike Dowson, founder and managing director of Turtle Medical, said: "Duston Parish Council has taken a forward-thinking and pragmatic approach by choosing to protect its network of defibrillators before an issue arises.

"DefibTrack was designed to give custodians confidence that if an AED is moved or deployed, its location can be identified quickly so it can be recovered and returned to service as soon as possible."

Mr Mitchell added: "We install and maintain our defibrillators in the hopes that they will never need to be deployed, but we are confident that we'll be able to get one back in situ quickly if one is used.

"It's not common, but defibrillators can sadly be stolen, or they are misplaced in a hospital after being taken in with the patient. Mitigating the risk of a gap in Duston Parish Council's defib network just makes sense."