TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Life-saving automated external defibrillators (AED) will be installed in every Metro Rapid Transit station in the city, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin announced yesterday. The 109 machines in MRT stations will be just part of some 1,000 AEDs that will be placed in public areas around the city over the next three years.
According to Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. statistics, daily ridership for the capital's mass transit system averages 1.7 million people.
Locations like MRT stations are often packed with people, making installing AEDs at these locations the city government's top public health priority, Hau said.
Readily available AEDs will give passengers the chance to receive emergency medical services before being transferred to the hospital.
The devices will begin to be placed in MRT stations on April 1.
The mayor said the city government will also install AEDs at household registration offices, schools and markets.
Everyone can learn how to operate an AED, Hau said, as the instructions are simple and direct.
“We call it fool's AED because it is so simple to carry out the procedure,” he said.