South Western Railway installs life-saving defibrillators at over 150 stations
They've been added to the British Heart Foundation's database
South Western Railway (SWR) has marked the installation of publicly accessible, automated, external defibrillators at over 150 staffed stations on its vast network, available for local communities at any time of the day.
The defibrillators are placed in protective cabinets, as close as possible to the front entrance of the stations. They can be used day or night in the event of cardiac incidents, and they are remotely monitored to ensure they are always in working order.
The locations of the defibrillators have been added to ‘The Circuit’ — the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) database, visible to NHS ambulance services who can direct 999 callers to its position, so the device can be used to help save lives.
The BHF estimates that there are around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, and tragically just 1 in 10 people survive. The immediate use of CPR and defibrillators can double the chances of survival.
Local ambulance services are provided with the codes so users can unlock the cabinets and access the devices. Particularly in the more remote areas SWR serves, where ambulance response times are slower, a publicly accessible community defibrillator can be the difference between life and death.
Lyndsey Robson-Malone, Service Delivery Director of South Western Railway, commented:
“Heart conditions can affect us all, so it is fantastic to mark the successful rollout of defibrillators to our staffed stations on Restart a Heart Day. I would like to thank all the colleagues and others who have delivered this important project.
“We are dedicated to going above and beyond to contribute to the communities we serve across our network. We hope that, should the need arise, this significant investment can make a real difference in potentially life-or-death situations.”
David Hamer, Operations Manager for Paramedic Community Engagement & Training at the South Central Ambulance Service, commented:
“Defibrillators are quite literally lifesaving pieces of equipment, whilst I do hope there is never a need for these devices to be used, having them available to passengers using the staffed SWR network stations is an excellent step forward in public safety.”
The SWR network is one of the largest in the country with stations across Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, London, Hampshire, Somerset, Surrey, Wiltshire, and on the Isle of Wight. The train operator has invested over half a million pounds in the rollout as part of its commitment to safety and serving local communities.
The devices have been installed at 152 staffed stations on the SWR network, with devices at Queenstown Road, Dorchester South, and Branksome installed and available to use, but require some follow-up works which is due to be done soon.