Can AEDs Still Be Trusted After 7 Years? Consumer Foundation Survey Finds Half of Units May Need Inspection

Over the past decade, heart disease has consistently ranked as Taiwan's second leading cause of death, just behind cancer. Unlike cancer, some cardiac conditions strike without warning — a sudden, life-threatening arrhythmia can happen in an instant. If defibrillation is given within the first minute, the rescue success rate can be as high as 90%, dropping by 7–10% with every minute of delay. This is why the Consumers' Foundation has, since 2013, called for wider AED deployment in public spaces to help save lives in time.

An AED (Automated External Defibrillator) automatically analyzes a patient's heart rhythm and delivers a shock to help restore normal cardiac function. In 2013, Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare issued regulations designating public spaces required to install AEDs, along with rules for their proper deployment.

In April 2021, the Consumers' Foundation combined open inspections with undercover visits to survey seven categories of public venues in Taipei City and New Taipei City required by law to have AEDs. The undercover portion covered 50 locations, observing AED placement, signage, and general condition. The open inspection portion covered 31 locations, where volunteers, presenting official documentation, asked on-site staff to open the AED units — 26 sites agreed, allowing volunteers to check consumable expiration dates and unit installation dates.

While most AED units surveyed appeared functional from the outside, closer inspection of their internals and surroundings revealed a number of issues — including units in service far longer than expected, unclear signage, and expired Safe Place Certifications. The findings are detailed below.

Unclear Signage Makes AEDs Hard to Find in an Emergency

Under Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the regulations governing emergency equipment in public spaces, venues are required to mark AED locations on floor plans and post clear signage at main entrances and at the AED unit itself. In this survey, only 66% of venues had signage at the AED's actual location, 48% had clear signage at entrances, 20% marked the AED on a floor plan, and just 16% indicated it on a directory board.

In an emergency, every second counts, and unclear signage only makes AEDs harder to find — costing precious time during the critical window. AEDs should be placed somewhere visible and easily accessible. In this survey, several venues had placed their AEDs in out-of-the-way corners; Jingmei Hanxing Department Store, for example, had its unit installed in the basement with no signage, making it nearly impossible to locate without staff assistance.

Beyond signage, there's also the question of how to actually use the device once it's found. 18% of the surveyed venues had no usage instructions displayed on the AED's outer case. Without prior training, this makes it difficult for bystanders to operate the device quickly and correctly in a crisis — venues are required by regulation to display illustrated usage instructions on the AED case to help users understand it at a glance.

While the current regulation governing emergency equipment in public spaces exists, it includes no penalties, meaning venues that fail to properly install or maintain AEDs currently face no consequences. The Consumers' Foundation recommends the government introduce penalty provisions as soon as possible to help protect public safety — and urges venues that have already installed AEDs to ensure their signage is complete and visible, to help prevent tragic outcomes.

Half of AED Units Have Been in Service for 7+ Years, With Unclear Condition

A typical AED unit contains a main device, battery, and pads. While batteries and pads carry clear expiration dates, there's currently no regulation governing the main unit itself — most are only labeled with an installation date. According to the Taiwan Public Access Defibrillation Development Association, in countries like the United States, AED units that exceed their warranty period undergo a formal performance recertification process, testing whether the device's analysis function and shock output remain within normal range. If a unit passes, its service life can be extended — but only once, for up to three years.

Among the 26 AED units inspected in the open-inspection portion of this survey, 13 had been installed in or before 2014 — meaning they'd already been in service for over 7 years. Installation locations and dates are listed below.



Electronic devices all have a limited service life. Even if a unit still appears "functional" — with lights and indicators working normally — internal components and wiring may have aged in ways that affect the shock delivery performance needed in an emergency. The Consumers' Foundation recommends the government establish a formal maintenance and replacement system for public-space AEDs, to help ensure devices remain fully operational when needed. Aside from the main units, all pads and batteries checked in this survey were found to be within their expiration dates.

Fewer Than 4 in 10 Venues Hold a Valid Safe Place Certification

Safe Place Certification is a voluntary application submitted by the venue itself. Certified venues confirm that over 70% of staff have completed CPR + AED training and that the venue's administrator has completed the required management training. Once approved, the certification remains valid for 3 years — if a venue fails to renew it in time, this raises real concerns about misleading the public. In this survey, volunteers found valid Safe Place Certification displayed at only 40% of venues, and one of those (Carrefour Guilin Store) had a certification that had already expired — meaning only 38% of venues held a truly valid certification.

Safe Place Certification exists for good reason: to ensure that beyond simply having an AED on hand, staff at the venue also have the emergency response skills to act when it matters. The government should offer meaningful incentives to certified venues and encourage broader participation. Safe Place Certification gives the public real added assurance, and venues should treat certification renewal as a standard part of their regular equipment checks, ensuring staff training stays current.

Conclusion

AEDs may seem unrelated to everyday life — until the moment they're needed to save a life. AED deployment across Taiwan's public venues is already fairly widespread; in this survey, only one location (Cashbox KTV SOGO Branch) had no AED installed at all, while every other surveyed venue had one. But whether that AED can actually be found and used effectively in a real emergency is another question entirely.

The Consumers' Foundation is calling on the government to amend the relevant regulation as soon as possible to introduce penalty provisions, and to include formal maintenance and retirement protocols for AED units — helping ensure that every AED in public spaces remains genuinely usable. It also encourages venues without an AED to consider installing one, and for venues that already have one to review their signage, regularly check device and consumable expiration dates, and provide staff with ongoing emergency response training — building a safer environment for everyone.

Source: Consumers' Foundation, R.O.C.
https://www.consumers.org.tw/product-detail-3049601.html