A LIFESAVING defibrillator has been installed at Basingstoke Railway Station as part of a rollout inspired by a student who died from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS). 

Alex Wardle, 23, who was a medical student working in research died from SADS in 2016. 

His father, Steve Wardle, who is South Western Railway's operations trainer, set up the Alex Wardle Foundation in his son's memory, campaigning for greater public access to defibrillators. 

The foundation, which is one of SWR's official charity partners, inspired SWR to undertake its rollout of defibrillators.

Mr Wardle attended the unveiling of the new defibrillator at Basingstoke Railway Station, which is one of 150 to be installed at SWR staffed stations. 

The publicly accessible defibrillator has been installed by SWR in a protective cabinet at the front entrance of the station.

It can be used day or night in the event of cardiac incidents and is remotely monitored to ensure it is always in working order.   

A special event to mark the successful rollout of defibrillators was held on Monday, October 16 on Restart a Heart Day at Basingstoke station.

A ribbon was cut by the Mayor of Basingstoke, Cllr David Leeks, at the station’s new defibrillator.

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Following this, volunteers from Heart Start - a community-based organisation that provides training in CPR and the use of defibrillators - led a demonstration for attendees. 

The locations of the defibrillators have been added to ‘The Circuit’ — the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) database, which is visible to NHS ambulance services who can direct 999 callers to its position, so the devices can be used to help save lives.  

Operations manager for paramedic community engagement and training at South Central Ambulance Service, David Hamer, said: “Defibrillators are quite literally lifesaving pieces of equipment. Whilst I do hope there is never a need for these devices to be used, having them available to passengers using the staffed SWR network stations is an excellent step forward in public safety.” 

Basingstoke MP Maria Miller said: “It’s brilliant that South Western Railway has installed defibrillators at Basingstoke station.

"These machines can mean the difference between life and death, which is why it is essential that they are publicly available in busy places, such as our train station.” 

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The BHF estimates there are around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, and tragically just one in 10 people survive. The immediate use of CPR and defibrillators can double the chances of survival.   

Ambulance services are provided with the codes so users can unlock the cabinets and access the devices, which can be the difference between life and death, particularly in the more remote areas SWR serves where ambulance response times are slower. 

The event at Basingstoke was also attended by SWR’s head of stations and revenue protection, Jerome Pacatte.