South Western Railway has successfully installed lifesaving defibrillators across more than 150 of its staffed stations. The automated, external devices have been installed to support the operator's local communities and are accessible to the public 24 hours a day.
The defibrillators can be found in protective cabinets located as near as possible to the front entrance of stations and are maintained remotely to ensure that they are fully operational when needed.
The British Heart Foundation's database ‘The Circuit' has now had the South Western Railway defibrillators added and are also visible to NHS ambulance services who can direct those calling 999 to its whereabouts. Local ambulance services hold codes which enable users to unlock the cabinet, which is especially useful to those in remote areas where ambulances have longer response times and can be the difference between life and death.
Approximately 30,000 people each year are estimated to have out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK, of which tragically, only 1 in 10 people survive, according to the British Heart Foundation. The ability to use CPR and defibrillators can double a person's chance of survival.
The rollout of the defibrillators saw a special event take place at Basingstoke station on the 16th of October, coinciding with ‘Restart a Heart Day'. The special event saw Mayor of Basingstoke, Councillor David Leeks, cut the ribbon to the station's defibrillator. Following the ribbon cutting, volunteers of community-based organisation, Heart Start, gave a demonstration of CPR and the use of defibrillators to attendees.
Jerome Pacatte, SWR Head of Station and Revenue Protection, also attended the event alongside Steve Wardle, SWR Operations Trainer whose son Alex sadly passed from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome or SADS in 2016. Steve set up the Alex Wardle Foundation in memory of his son and also the aim to campaign for greater access to defibrillators for the public, which inspired the rail operator's rollout of the lifesaving devices. The Alex Wardle Foundation is also one of South Western Railways' official charity partners.
The rail operators roll out of defibrillators began back in March this year and saw a train named after the Alex Wardle Foundation and to mark the event, the train arrived at Basingstoke station for the event.
Since the train was named back in March, 92 alerts have been made from ‘The Circuit' where an SWR defibrillator has been used in an emergency, clearly marking the extreme importance of the roll-out.
Further to the event, South Western Rail colleagues raised a huge £3,283 for the Alex Wardle Foundation by taking part in the Great South Run in Portsmouth on the 15th of October.
The roll-out by the rail operator marks one of the largest in the country and covers stations in:
Lyndsey Robson-Malone, Service Delivery Director of South Western Railway, said:
“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, said:
“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 Rt Hon Dame Maria Miller DBE MP, Member of Parliament for Basingstoke, said:
“It's brilliant that South Western Railway has installed defibrillators at Basingstoke station. These machines can mean the difference between life and death, which is why it is essential that they are publicly available in busy places, such as our train station.”
Bradley Scott, Projects Manager for Integral UK Ltd, said:
“We at Integral are proud to have partnered with the Alex Wardle Foundation in making access to life-saving defibrillators that much more accessible. For us, keeping in mind the mission of the foundation and the quality of the service provided was our top priority.”
“As such, Integral has worked closely alongside SWR to install these essential devices across its network with minimal disruption. I honoured us to have been a part of advancing the charity's work towards the wider community as well as continuing to provide a level of service excellence across all our projects.”
