After the events of the of the MS Mega Swim event in March the communities call for a defibrillator have been answered.
The machines will be available to other council services and events when not in use during the off season at the Leeton and Whitton pools.
At the Mega Swim event a young women fell ill needed immediate first aid, which was provided for her however after it came to light their was no defibrillator at the pool their was an outcry from the community.
At the time council general manager Jackie Kruger said “ it would not have been appropriate to use one in that particular situation.” but said council will look into the option of purchasing one
At the April council meeting it was decided their would be two defibrillators, one each for the Whitton and Leeton pool.
Ordinarily the cost of the defibrillators would have been sourced from the council’s pool funds, however council was recently were told they have been announced as the StateCover Mutual’s Riverina winner of $5000 in the “Let’s Get SMARTer” promotion.
The promotion is available to council to invest in any workplace health and safety or injury management system of their choosing.
The council staff have been able to source defibrillator devices at a heavily discounted price of $2300 each.
According to the staff members the package will include replacements for batteries and electrode pads used over a 7-year period, all listed accessories and an online training session for pool staff.
While it may not be a requirement of the NSW Water Safety Practice Note, which is the guide for pool operations of public swimming pools in NSW, many public pools in NSW have access to a defibrillator in the case of drownings or other emergencies.
Councillor Paul Smith put forward the idea of the machines being available to other council services and events when not in use during the off season at the Leeton and Whitton pools which was agreed to by the rest of council.