Thanks to Peter, there is now an AED at Oesterdam: “I owe my life to him.”

By: Liselotte de Lobel/Zuidwestupdate

On Oesterdam, a AED pole was installed on Monday morning. The initiative came from Peter Metske, who came up with the idea after his heart attack in July 2023. In collaboration with Allévo Zorg- en Dienstverlening, Rijkswaterstaat and the municipality of Tholen, the AED pole was realized.

In the summer of 2023, Peter Metske was cycling on the Oesterdam when he suddenly suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, there were bystanders who immediately came to his aid. The nearest AED – four kilometers away – was called and saved Peter’s life. “I really owe my life to the bystanders who helped me and brought an AED,” he says.

Accidents happen around the Oesterdam quite regularly. For example, on August 11, 2024, a Belgian man was resuscitated. Marieke de Lange, together with Peter the initiator, is therefore very pleased with the implementation of the AED. “It is so important that an AED can be placed in such an abandoned place like this. That was when I joined the organization (Allévo Zorg, red.) ”We are going to see if there is any possibility of cooperation with the municipality,” she explains.

The first six minutes

Although the AED was brought in in time to help Peter, given the distance it is not necessarily available immediately. To be able to act within six minutes, an AED must be available within five hundred meters. According to hartstichting.nl For resuscitation to be crucial. The survival chances are then greatest. The survival chances outside the hospital are 23 percent and through the use of an AED 38 percent.

It took two years before the AED could be realized. According to Alderman Corniel van Leeuwen, this is due to the criteria an AED must meet. “What you have to deal with is that you need an electrical supply. Then a dam where people swim, for example, is a difficult location to place an AED. That means we had to work with Rijkswaterstaat to figure out how to arrange the electricity.” Now that has been achieved and the AED is officially operational.

1,125 residents in the municipality without an AED

Tholen now has a total of 36 registered AEDs; according to the alderman, there may be more, because not every AED is registered. “Companies or social organizations that want to add one: welcome. That way, we can manage them as the municipality,” he says. Hartstichting Nederland keeps a record of where those registered AEDs are located and which areas do not have an AED within five hundred meters. In total, that amounts to about 1,125 residents in the municipality of Tholen.

“We are open to improving this. It is truly a task that you must complete together with your residents and businesses,” says Van Leeuwen. To ensure that more residents have an AED nearby, organizations and residents must take the first step. “Come in for consultation with us and we will work together to see where we can best place it.”

Read the post here