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Following is a question by the Professor Hon Patrick Lau and an oral reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (March 4):
Question:
Heart disease is the number two killer-disease in Hong Kong, claiming about 17 lives on average every day. According to some scientific researches, every one-minute delay in administering electric shock to patients suffering from a heart attack (sudden cardiac arrest) will reduce their survival rate by 7% to 10%. On the other hand, if automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are installed at public places so that electric shock can be administered to such patients immediately, the number of persons rescued can be increased by more than one half. Hence, it is common that public places (such as government buildings, schools, shopping arcades and underground railway stations, etc.) in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan have AEDs installed, and at the airports of such countries, AEDs are installed at intervals of 50 metres to 100 metres. Although a few places in Hong Kong have AEDs installed at present, the usage rate is on the low side due to insufficient publicity and inconvenient locations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given the small size and affordable prices (around $10,000-odd each) of AEDs, whether the Government will make reference to overseas practices and install AEDs at locations in the vicinity of fire hoses, public lavatories or lifts at various public places (including the Legislative Council Building and all government buildings), and encourage private organisations to follow suit; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(b) given that it is easy and simple to operate an AED, which can automatically assess the patient's heart rate and then administer the electric shock as appropriate, and that in Seattle of the United States, upon enhancement of citizens' first-aid knowledge and installation of AEDs at a number of places across the city, the survival rate of persons suffering from sudden cardiac arrest has increased tremendously from 1% to 3% to 16% to 25%, whether the authorities will launch campaigns to teach the public how to use AEDs, with a view to enabling people nearby to give first aid to a person suffering from sudden cardiac arrest within the critical five-minute period, thereby reducing the rate of sudden death of persons suffering from sudden cardiac arrest; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are devices used to perform cardiac resuscitation on patients. Overseas research has shown that with the simultaneous use of an AED in the course of performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a patient suffering from heart attack, the survival rate of the patient could be increased. At present, all ambulances of the Fire Services Department (FSD) are equipped with AEDs. AEDs are also used by public hospitals to perform cardiac resuscitation on patients. While AEDs are simple to operate, consideration must be given to the patients' prevailing circumstances and attention must be paid to the operation procedures before using them on patients. In this connection, AED users must first receive training on first aid and operation of the device. In addition, they must clearly understand that the use of AED is only part of the first aid procedures and the patients still need to be sent to hospitals for medical treatment as quickly as possible.
My reply to the two parts of the question is as follows -
(a) & (b) With the increase in wealth in society, the change in eating habits and the lack of exercise, there is an increasing prevalence of heart disease with signs of early occurrence among the public. The Government therefore encourages people to receive first aid training so that they can perform first aid on patients suffering from heart attack. The first aid training includes CPR and automated external defibrillation.
In fact, the FSD has implemented a Community Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training Scheme since 1999 to provide free CPR training to the community and encourage the trained members of the public to perform CPR on people suffering from heart attack before the arrival of ambulance personnel. So far, over 20,000 people have participated in the Scheme.
The FSD has also implemented a Public Access Defibrillation Scheme since 2006. Under the Scheme, free CPR and automated defibrillation training is provided with the aim of encouraging institutions to install AEDs in public places, and enabling those who have been trained to perform first aid on people suffering from heart attack. So far, more than 2,000 people have received training and acquired the basic theories of the two first aid skills and knowledge on the use of relevant device. The people who have received training include staff of property management companies, airport security personnel, staff of residential care homes for the elderly, government staff, staff in the hotel industry, MTR staff, fire safety ambassadors, civilian staff of the FSD, etc.
In addition, the Hong Kong College of Cardiology, Hong Kong Red Cross and Hong Kong St. John Ambulance also offer similar training courses. About 15,000 people have been trained so far.
At present, AEDs have been installed at a number of places in the territory, including office buildings, theme parks, schools, large shopping malls, private housing estates, private clubhouses, commercial buildings, nursing homes, etc. We welcome the increasing popularity of the device. To facilitate wider use of AEDs and to further promote first aid treatment for heart attack in the community, we will enhance our communication and collaboration with the institutions concerned and work together with them. The ultimate goal is to enable more members of the public to offer assistance to people in need by giving first aid treatment. Prior to formulating the long-term specific policy on the promotion of AEDs, the Government will carefully examine all relevant factors, including safety of the device, usage of the device in the territory, the number of people who have received training on the operation of the device, overseas experience, etc.
Ends/Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:54
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