According to the heart foundation, about 17.000 people in the Netherlands suffer a cardiac arrest outside the hospital every year. Because the heart stops pumping, the organs and brain get no blood supply and therefore no more oxygen. Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening situation: if no action is taken, the victim will die. The chances of survival are greatest if CPR starts within the first six minutes and an AED is deployed. The Dutch Railways and ProRail have been busy installing AEDs at stations in the Netherlands for some time now.
"These months, NS and ProRail want to install AEDs at all stations, a total of 575 AEDs. The large stations in Zeeland have had AEDs for some time, which are being renewed so that everyone has access to the AED at the station."
A new AED was recently installed at Goes station, now all stations in Zeeland have an AED. All stations in Zeeland are now connected to the HartslagNu resuscitation call system. With the installation of the new AEDs in the Netherlands, everyone has access to the AED and people at and in the vicinity of a station have a greater chance of survival in the event of a cardiac arrest. The Dutch Railways hopes to have all train stations equipped with the new AEDs this year and the intention is that at least 1 AED per station is registered with the resuscitation call system HartslagNu. The AED is displayed in the NS app and also on ns.nl, under the heading 'Facilities'.
"By expanding the range of AEDs, we want to contribute to a nationwide AED network. This increases the chance of survival of people who suffer a cardiac arrest at or around stations."
Photo above: NS / Arno Leblanc
