At least 775 of the country's municipal bathing sites lack defibrillators, a survey by the Heart-Lung Foundation shows.
In total, there are 121 registered defibrillators at bathing sites according to the Swedish Council for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. The survey shows that only 17 of the country's 290 municipalities have defibrillators at all bathing sites.
Every year, around 440 people are affected by drowning accidents, with about half of them being fatal. The accidents with fatal outcomes occur in most cases during the summer months.
"For those who suffer a cardiac arrest in connection with drowning, early treatment with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillators is the only way to save lives. If a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes, the survival rate for those affected is up to 70 percent," says Kristina Sparreljung, Secretary General of the Heart-Lung Foundation, in a press release.
