World's largest AED training session held in Singapore!
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 08:39
On Sunday, 5,000 people took part in the world's largest Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training session organised by the Singapore Heart Foundation and the National Resuscitation Council (Singapore).
The event, organised on Singapore's National Life Saving Day, came with a serious message: AED training will save lives.
Only 20% of people receive CPR if they collapse outside of hospital in Singapore so the organisers felt it was important to give more training to the public and encourage the public to act as rescuers.
It is estimated in Singapore that quick use of an AED can increase the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital from 2.7% to roughly 55% (in the UK it improves from 6% to 74%).
The message should have larger implications across world; an estimated 1,400 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital in Singapore compared to roughly 190,000 in the UK.
The success of National Life Saving Day in Singapore is great news, but hopefully it will encourage a similar event in the UK.
Who knows, maybe someday defibshop will be making a new world record!