More and more stations in the Netherlands are getting an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). In recent months, the railway organizations NS and ProRail, together with the Heart Foundation, have already installed AEDs at various stations. This is not a superfluous luxury if you know that in our country about forty people per day have a cardiac arrest outside the hospital. In July this year, the Dutch Railways announced that they have started installing 715 AEDs at various stations throughout the Netherlands. This project is expected to take about 8 months, by which time every station should be equipped with such a device. The kick-off was at Culemborg station, which marked the start of a nationwide AED network.
“According to the Hartstichting, approximately 17.000 people per year experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital. The chance of survival is greatest if CPR starts within the first six minutes, preferably with the use of an AED. The new AED can be used at the station, but also in the vicinity of the station.”
Until last summer, there were only 50 stations with AEDs, but many more have already been installed. Recently, all stations in Almere have also been provided and they are also busy with places in Groningen. The AEDs can be used by employees of NS and ProRail and by civilian emergency workers who are registered via Heartbeat Now. The chances of survival are greatest if someone in cardiac arrest is resuscitated within 6 minutes and connected to an AED. HartslagNu is the resuscitation call system in the Netherlands, you can register AEDs here and you can also register as a civilian emergency worker. By installing the AEDs at all stations, Nederlandse Spoorwegen contributes to a nationwide AED network.
“This expansion of the network has an impact on the stations and their surroundings. NS and ProRail thus contribute to the task that we still have in the Netherlands to fill AED-less zones."
Photo above: NS image bank/ Arno Leblanc.
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