PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(3 September 2025)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of co-locating (a) inhalers, (b) adrenaline auto injectors and (c) other emergency medical treatment alongside defibrillators in the community settings.

Asked by:
Dr Caroline Johnson (Conservative)

There are no plans to make prescription inhalers available to store alongside automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). This is because AED guardians would need to maintain a stock of inhalers, as the devices need to be replaced when they are used. AED guardians would need to check regularly to see if a device had been used and returned, which is not feasible with non-dosage counter inhalers, or used and taken away by whoever needed it. Additionally, where AED cabinets are kept unlocked by their communities, there is a risk that small devices like inhalers could simply be stolen.

Individuals with asthma who have been prescribed inhalers, should have those devices with them or with their parent/guardian.

The National Health Service is also seeking to reduce prescribing of reliever inhalers and making these devices available through AED cabinets runs contrary to that goal.

Similarly, there are no plans to make adrenaline auto injectors or other prescription only treatments available for storage in AED cabinets.

Answered by:
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