KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is on a goal to get AED installed in each and every building.
According to the statistic, having medical equipment is essential because half of the deaths from acute myocardial infarction occur outside of the hospital, and patients die before arriving at the hospital.
“One of the leading causes of death in the United States is heart disease.”
“To make this work, we need a whole-of-society approach,” he said after opening the 11th National Acute Myocardial Infarction Course by the Serdang Hospital in Bangsar on Saturday (Oct 16).
AED is a medical device that analyses the heart rhythm and gives an electric shock to ventricular fibrillation victims in order to restore normal heart rhythm.
Without specifying a goal timeframe for the idea, Khairy stated that AEDs are widespread in buildings housing academic institutions, government offices, and corporate offices in many other countries.
“It (the AED) must be displayed, and we need to train as many people as possible to be first responders,” he added, based on his discussions with the Red Crescent Society and St John Ambulance, the average citizen should be taught to be first responders.
He stated that he will consult with relevant departments, such as federal and local governments.
“I’ll make a case for it.” I’ll have to talk to the various ministries, including state and local government, about starting with government buildings and then moving on to larger buildings (building by law),” he added.
Khairy stated that the proposal would be presented to the Cabinet soon.
Resource: thestar.com.my
