By Sibanengi Dube
Thirty defibrillators will be installed in St Albans, Kings Park and Kealba as part of St John Ambulance’s Defib in Your Street program.
The initiative will provide residents with vital access to defibrillators and life-saving CPR training, in the event of sudden cardiac arrests (SCA), one of the leading causes of death in Australia, according to St John.
The program was rolled out in Reservoir last year.
For close to five years, St Albans and other suburbs in the 3021 area code topped the charts for the number of SCA in Victoria, with nearly 300 cases recorded over a five-year period, St John stated.
Despite this, St John said there are no 24-7 publicly accessible defibrillators (PAD) available in the community prior to the program roll out
St John stated that only one in three patients received CPR from a bystander, lower than the state average of 40 per cent.
“The survival rate from a sudden cardiac arrest is very low, at below five per cent, and decreases with every passing minute. However, if a bystander performs effective CPR, the survival rate more than doubles,” St John Ambulance Victoria chief executive Gordon Botwright said.
“Even better, if the patient is shocked by a Publicly Accessible Defibrillator, their chances of survival can increase to as high as 70 per cent – as seen in some parts of the world. This is why CPR awareness and training, along with the availability of defibrillators, is crucial.”
St John Ambulance Victoria aims to build resilient communities and transform survival rates for SCA in St Albans and its neighbouring suburbs. The 30 defibrillators will reduce the distance between each resident and help to less than 400 metres.
St John Ambulance will also provide free training to community members, with up to 5000 free places in CPR courses offered to all residents.
