Restart a Heart Day is today, Thursday, 16 October 2025. To mark the national day which raises awareness of cardiac arrest and supports people to learn CPR, numerous businesses, organisations and non-profits are being celebrated as Restart a Heart Heroes for safeguarding their communities with Turtle’s groundbreaking solar and wind powered defib cabinet.
It is recommended that Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) maintain a temperature of 10 degrees or more. This is to ensure the battery doesn’t fail and the pads do not degrade. Alongside the proper regular checks, this ensures a defibrillator is always ‘rescue ready’.
There is no electricity supply available for a defib cabinet in the many locations up and down the UK, but these heroes are being celebrated for still seeking an answer to their challenge.
The stand-alone cabinets, which have two solar panels and a turbine designed to withstand and harness storm force gales can be installed on any solid surface with bolts. However, at Rivington Pike’s Fika Rivington Café and Church Stretton Golf Club, the existing building and hillside hut were utilised in unique designs.
Until last year, there was no viable solution for places like parks, sports and leisure destinations and remote places without power. There are 22 early adopters of Turtle Medical’s innovation, the first and only failsafe, off-grid defib solution which could save lives in countless remote locations.
The Restart a Heart Day initiative is led by Resuscitation Council UK, supported by British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, St John Ambulance, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, NHS England, Save a Life for Scotland, Save a Life Cymru, and Northern Ireland Ambulance.
The following non-profits, public authorities and businesses have welcomed the creative approach to closing the care gap. They are being praised as Restart a Heart Heroes by Turtle for being determined to protect people and help increase out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.
Workington Town Council; St John Scotland; RSPB; Romsey Town Council; Kington Golf Club; Hearts for Herts Charity; Bolton Mountain Rescue Team; Fika Rivington; OurJay Foundation; Princethorpe College; Urban&Civic; Oakmere Golf Club; Church Stretton Golf Club; Hamilton Golf Club; Defib UK; Warmsworth Parish Council; Stoke Parish Council; Woodsome Hall Golf Club; Elsea Park Community Trust; East Markham Parish Council and Balfour Beatty.
Every second counts when a person goes into cardiac arrest; for every minute that passes without defibrillation, the chance of survival decreases by up to 10 per cent.
But in the most disadvantaged areas, the nearest 24/7 accessible defibrillator is on average a round trip of over a mile, or 1.8km, according to research supported by British Heart Foundation. In rural areas this can increase significantly.
Mike Dowson, the engineer behind the unique solar and wind powered defibrillator cabinet, said: “It’s important for our Restart a Heart Heroes to be celebrated. They were not satisfied to leave members of the community at risk, and they will inspire other installations without electrical connection.
“We spent two years undertaking research, development and feasibility studies because we knew there were too many villages, communities and leisure destinations where people were in a vulnerable position if they were to suffer a cardiac arrest.
“We proud to have these organisations as our customers, leading the way and inspiring other people to feel more protected, whether in their home, walking their dog or out enjoying nature.”
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