31. August 2023
Public policy
New defibrillator for the Bocholt Citizens' Advice Bureau
A defibrillator is now available to the public at the Bocholt Citizens' Advice Bureau. The device can help save lives in an emergency. The device was sponsored by Volksbank Bocholt.
What is an AED?
A "matter of the heart": Martin Wilms, Chairman of Volksbank Bocholt, Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff and Monika Tenbrock, Head of the Public Order Department, show the new defibrillator in the Citizens' Office.
A defibrillator, also known as an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), is a life-saving medical device that helps restore normal heart rhythm by delivering electrical pulses in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. The rapid availability of a defibrillator can be crucial in such emergencies and greatly improve the chances of survival.
"We hope, of course, that the device will never have to be used," says Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff. Nevertheless, it is reassuring to know that the device is now available in the citizens' office in case of emergency, says Kerkhoff.
The special thing about modern defibrillators is that their use is largely self-explanatory. If the device has to be used, there are loud instructions for use - so even people who are not trained in the use of a defibrillator can provide quick help.
Employees are trained
The new defibrillator for the citizens' office was provided to the city of Bocholt by Volksbank Bocholt. "This is literally a matter of the heart for us," says Martin Wilms from the board of Volksbank Bocholt. In the past, Volksbank has already sponsored several defibrillators, says Wilms. "In an emergency, the devices can save lives," says Wilms.
Although a defibrillator can be used safely in an emergency without instruction, the staff of the Citizens' Advice Bureau will soon receive training for the device in addition to the instruction when it is handed over. "This brings additional safety", says Kerkhoff.
More information about the devices and a map with locations of defibrillators in Bocholt is available online: