Usage Rate in Past Five Years of Automatic External Defibrilators Installed in Public Places

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Health in each year of the past five years, what has been the usage rate of Automatic External Defibrilators (AEDs) installed in public places.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) are used to restart the heart when persons collapse due to cardiac arrest. AED use is associated with increased survival in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) patients. The latest available data is up to 2017, and indicates that AED usage rate has increased from 1.9% in 2012 to 6.4% in 2017 1 . This increase is likely due to a growing public awareness about the use of AEDs as well as the availability of AEDs in public places.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 11:

1 AED usage rate is defined as percentage of OHCA incidents where bystander had used AED on patient. 2017 data is preliminary and may be subject to change.

2 SCDF records, pending further verification.