• Swindon & Wiltshire Social
• Friday June 5 2026

Nationwide installs defibrillators and bleed control kits at all 605 branches in UK first

In a UK first, Swindon-headquartered building society Nationwide is installing life-saving defibrillators and bleed control kits across its 605 branches.

Britain’s biggest building society, which now has more branches than any other banking provider after overtaking Lloyds Banking Group, has promised to keep all branches open until at least 2030.

The rollout, which will see the kits installed from now until the end of the year, is being done in partnership with Visa, with St John Ambulance working alongside Nationwide to offer life-saving training for colleagues and local communities.

The importance of having life-saving equipment readily available locally for emergency services to deploy if needed – and the crucial role the public can play – is made clear by the facts: without first aid intervention, a severe bleed or cardiac arrest can lead to death within minutes.

Severe bleeding remains a leading cause of death after traumatic injury in the UK, with knife- or sharp instrument-related offences totalling around 53,000 in 2024/2025.

And of the 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the country each year, fewer than one in 10 people are estimated to survive.

Yet, if a patient is defibrillated within three to five minutes of collapse, survival rates increase by up to 70 per cent.

Amanda Beech, Nationwide’s director of retail services, said: “Nationwide’s unique reach as the UK’s largest branch network gives us the ability to put life-saving equipment where it matters most – in places people already know and trust in their communities.

“By transforming our branches into visible, emergency hubs, we’re making it easier to access help when every second counts.

“Crucially we’re also offering training to all our branch colleagues, before extending that training into the communities we serve. We want more people to feel prepared, confident and ready to act when it matters most.”

St John Ambulance chief medical officer, Professor Andrew Hartle (pictured), said: “We’re so pleased to work with Nationwide and Visa on this project, which so perfectly meets St John Ambulance’s mission to put the power of first aid into everyone’s hands.

“With hundreds more public access defibrillators and bleed control kits across the UK, and thousands more people confident to use them, I am confident many more lives will be saved in our communities.”

The kits will be available 24/7 unless within a shopping centre and can be accessed by the public as directed by 999.

So far defibrillators and bleed control kits have been installed across nine Nationwide branches: Tooting, Peacehaven, Seaford, Eastbourne, East Ham, West Wickham, Maidstone, Northampton Kingsthorpe, and Redhill.

Locally, kits will be rolled out to Bristol Cabot Circus, Yate, Croft Branch Swindon, Regent Street Swindon, and Weston-super-Mare in June, and Newbury, Marlborough and Yeovil in July.