South Western Railway to install lifesaving defibrillators across network

South Western Railway has announced its rollout of publicly accessible defibrillators at all 154 of its staffed stations.

The defibrillators will be placed in protective cabinets as close as possible to station entrances and available day and night in the event of cardiac incidents.

The train operator – which has stations across Hampshire, Berkshire, South West London, Surrey, Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon – is investing more than £500,000 in the project as part of its commitment to serving local communities.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) estimates there are around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, which only one in 10 people survive.

During a cardiac arrest, every minute counts. The immediate use of CPR and defibrillators can double the chances of survival. Expanding the availability of these machines can be lifesaving.

Station staff and local ambulance services will be provided with the codes to unlock the cabinets and access the machines, which they can provide to members of the public in an emergency.

The locations will be added to 'The Circuit' – the BHF database. Once registered, a defibrillator is visible to NHS ambulance services who can direct 999 callers to its location to help save lives.

A heating system will ensure the defibrillators maintain their normal operating temperature and a monitoring system will send alerts if a machine malfunctions or is running low on battery, ensuring it is always ready to use.

The SWR staffed stations in Berkshire that will be receiving defibrillators are:

Bracknell,

Datchet,

Earley,

Egham,

Martins Heron,

Staines,

Sunningdale,

Virginia Water,

Windsor & Eton Riverside,

Winnersh,

Winnersh Triangle,

and Wokingham

The Hampshire stations are:

Aldershot,

Alton,

Andover,

Basingstoke,

Bedhampton,

Bentley,

Brockenhurst,

Chandlers Ford,

Cosham,

Eastleigh,

Fareham,

Farnborough,

Fleet,

Fratton,

Havant,

Hedge End,

Hinton Admiral,

Hook,

Liphook,

Liss,

Lymington Town,

Micheldever,

Netley,

New Milton,

Overton,

Petersfield,

Portchester,

Portsmouth and Southsea,

Portsmouth Harbour,

Rowlands Castle,

Southampton Airport Parkway,

Southampton Central,

St Denys,

Swanwick,

Sway,

Swaythling,

Totton,

Whitchurch,

Winchester,

Winchfield,

and Woolston

The rollout of the machines will begin this month and is expected to be competed by the end of the summer.

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