St John regional manager Nicolle Warren said the organisation was a believer in a system of saving people, which included publically accessible defibrillators, people trained in first aid and quality, timely ambulance services.
“In WA, St John provides a very good ambulance service but in some situations such as cardiac arrest, time is critical,” she said.
“In cardiac arrest every minute that goes by without help can reduce a person’s chance of survival 10 pec cent, therefore the placement of more publically accessible defibrillators throughout the region would also save more lives.”
“These devices, which deliver a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to a person’s heart when it has stopped pumping, are very easy to use even if you haven’t got any knowledge of first aid training.”
St John maintains a register of more than 2,200 defibrillators that are linked in with the triple zero call centre so that they can be readily deployed when a cardiac arrest occurrs.
Ms Warren said people and organisations were encouraged to register defibrillators with St John if they hadn’t in the past.
“Defibrillators can be registered under the St John Community First Responder (CFR) Program, which means local people on the ground can help victims of sudden cardiac arrest in the vital minutes before the ambulance arrives,” she said.
“There is no fee to do this and St John can provide ongoing support and customer service.”
In 2018, St John has already recorded 26 activations at CFR locations where the patient has survived to hospital as a result of early defibrillation.
Community First Responder is already operating in 2,200 locations across WA.
Businesses or individuals looking to purchase a defibrilator can contact Canberra First Aid at www.canberrafirstaid.com
Great work again by St johns, we are always trying to improve our first aid course in Canberra.