Virgin Media O2, in partnership with the British Heart Foundation, has rolled out defibrillators to all company owned stores across the UK, including their store in Cwmbran town centre.

Alongside the roll out, Virgin Media O2 has also been training staff in CPR, with hundreds of employees taking part in online sessions and in-person training.

For every minute that someone’s in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10%.

Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds visited the Cwmbran store to hear about this vital work increasing the number of defibrillators in the constituency, and speak to the in-store staff about the CPR training they have received.

More than 200 defibrillators are now available and Virgin Media O2 is currently registering them on BHF’s National Defibrillator Network, The Circuit, meaning 999 call handlers will be able to quickly direct people to nearby stores in an emergency.

On visiting the O2 store in Cwmbran, Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “It is vital that people have quick access to defibrillators when someone has a cardiac arrest, so it is welcoming that Virgin Media O2 are taking this initiative to rollout the lifesaving equipment in all their stores, including here in Cwmbran.  

It was great to hear from the in-store staff about their CPR training, and I am sure that people across Torfaen will be pleased to know that they can use their local O2 store in an emergency.”  

Gareth Turpin, Chief Commercial Officer, Mobile at Virgin Media O2 said: We’re using our national network of High Street stores to improve access to life-saving defibrillators and make a real difference to the communities we serve like in Cwmbran.

It’s not just in stores where we hope we can make an impact; we’ve trained hundreds of our people in lifesaving CPR and zero-rated the BHF website and GoodSam app, so millions more people can learn vital skills or offer help in an emergency without using any of their data.

“With every second counting in a crisis, and CPR training taking just 15 minutes, there’s never been a better time to learn how to save a life.”