The initiative comes as research conducted by Nationwide revealed less than one in five Britons feels very confident stopping a severe bleed (18%) or using a defibrillator (19%) and just one in four (24%) feels very confident carrying out CPR.
The research of 2,000 respondents also found 87% of people would feel safer knowing there is life-saving equipment available in their local area and 97% believe it’s important to have first aid training available for free in their local area. More than three quarters (77%) of people saying they would attend nearby free sessions.
Nationwide, which has more branches than any other bank or building society in the UK, has partnered with Visa to install St John Ambulance Heart defibrillators and Public Access Trauma (PAcT) kits in what is believed to be the largest-ever combined rollout of life-saving kits in the UK.
The kits will be available 24/7 unless within a shopping centre and can be accessed by the public as directed by 999.
The research also showed nine in 10 (89%) people specifically want more public access to bleed control kits due to the rise in knife crime. 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.
In cases of cardiac arrest – of which 40,000 occur out of hospital each year – and severe bleeding, death can occur in minutes, often before emergency services get there. If a patient is defibrillated within three to five minutes of collapse, survival rates increase by up to 70 per cent. Yet more than a tenth (12%) of Britons do not know or are not sure what a defibrillator is. Nearly half (47%) are unfamiliar with a bleed control kit and a third (34%) are unsure or don’t know what a tourniquet is, the research found.
Ross Kemp says: "In a life-threatening emergency you're reliant on those closest by and quick intervention can often be the difference between life and death. Minutes and seconds matter.
"Installing life-saving equipment across all Nationwide branches will make a difference by making support visible, accessible and linked to a well-known high street name. Just as importantly, St John Ambulance will be offering training to colleagues and communities - giving people more confidence to step in when it really counts."
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.
“As a mutual built to serve our communities, we know that 87 per cent of people feel safer knowing life-saving equipment is close to home. That’s why we’re not only making defibrillators and bleed control kits more visible and accessible on high streets across the UK, but we’re also working to build the confidence to use them. We’re starting by 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, says: "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."
Read more about our Nationwide partnership.
