Woman raises funds to buy defibrillator for pensioners but is hit with £240 VAT

10 October 2023 , 08:28

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Glenda Winter, 82, is campaigning for VAT on defibrillators to be scrapped (Image: Chris Watt Photography)

A pensioner has called for VAT on defibrillators to be axed after she was slapped with the tax while trying to buy the lifesaving equipment for her sheltered housing block.

Glenda Winter, 82, first approached housing association Bield around Easter about installing the apparatus at the 48-flat accommodation in Duns, on the Scottish Borders, after a neighbour died of a heart attack. However, she was told it did not have the funds. Instead, with the help of her daughter-in-law Yvonne Huggins-Haig - a member of Gavinton Community Council - she began fundraising the roughly £1,200 needed.

After hosting a coffee morning, which included a raffle and a competition, as well as taking other donations, the pair were ready to order the defibrillator in July. But were then gobsmacked at the £240 VAT charge added to the total. Glenda told the Mirror: "I don’t think it’s right. Defibrillators are supposed to be for the people and not for the gain. If you believe that, you’ll believe anything."

Glenda tried to get a defibrillator fitted at her sheltered housing complex after a neighbour died (Chris Watt Photography)

The closest defibrillator to the Turnbull Court block is at the local police station around half a mile away. After hosting the coffee morning earlier in the summer Glenda fell ill and was told by 999 call handlers to get to a defibrillator. She explained: "I took ill and couldn’t breathe. The ambulance service told my son to go to the police station and get the defibrillator when they were on their way. I didn’t need it as it happens - I went into hospital and I had pneumonia."

But the close call highlighted how important the lifesaving device could be for Glenda and her neighbours. "It's for everybody in here because they’re old, some of them can’t even get out of their rooms - the oldest are in their 90s," she said. "They would have to run to the police station to get there in time. My son went in the car for it." She added: "Yvonne said you can buy a bit of steak with no VAT that could kill you. It doesn’t make sense."

London flat for rent for £1,400 a month with bed tucked away in kitchen cupboard

She had to raise the money herself as the housing association said it didn't have the budget (Chris Watt Photography)

Yvonne paid the VAT out of her own pocket because Glenda was "completely stretched" by her fundraising efforts. She said: "Most people had no idea you had to pay VAT - which was anyway a luxury tax - on something that is a lifesaving piece of equipment. It just doesn’t make sense - to me, anyway, and most other people. It’s so unethical."

She said there is a defibrillator where the council is housed and this year the insurance for it went it up from around £18 to £67. "That can’t be right either, unless they’ve been stolen in other places," she continued. "That’s a huge increase. It’s more than trebled. I know the cost of living has gone up but threefold? For something we’ve had no problem with in the past. Everybody is starting to rip people off. The government are just profiteering from all of this."

A spokesperson for Bield said: “We are continually impressed by the determination of our tenants and Glenda’s efforts to raise funds for a defibrillator is another example of them going above and beyond to support the community. We fully support her drive to cut VAT on life saving equipment.”

To sign Glenda and Yvonne's petition, click here.

The ‘Heart Restart Tax’

Glenda and Yvonne are among campaigners demanding the Government scraps the “heart restart tax” and remove the VAT levied on defibrillators. Patients, MPs and the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) are calling for an end to the tax which can add up to £500 to the cost to a business or community centre to install one. The Mirror is campaigning to have the lifesaving devices installed in all public places.

Cost can be a major barrier as the automated external defibrillators (AEDs) typically cost between £800 and £2,500. The Republic of Ireland scrapped VAT on defibrillators in January.

Every day 200 people suffer a sudden cardiac arrest in the UK. A person in the UK has an 8% chance of surviving if it happens out of hospital. Survival rates increase as high as 70% if a defibrillator is used within three to five minutes. Survival rates drop by 10% for every minute of delay after this time.

The Mirror's campaign

Seven out of ten cardiac arrests occur in the home or a workplace and half are witnessed by a bystander. However, public access defibrillator use is reported in less than one in ten of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

Currently only AEDs purchased by or donated to specific charities, local authorities and the NHS are exempt from VAT. A Treasury spokesperson said: “We take the safety of the public seriously and provide several VAT reliefs to help organisations buy defibrillators and other first aid equipment. In addition, we are currently inviting community organisations to bid for funding as part of a £1 million grant scheme that expands public access to AEDs, particularly in public places where they are most needed.”

Ryan Merrifield