Jo our training instructor was fantastic and gave us a few stories of where this amazing training has helped everyday West Aussies save the lives of family and friends. These were awe inspiring stories all with a common link to those who went through the training and helped out.
Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime. There are on average 33,000 cardiac arrest events in Australia every year, more than 75 per cent of which occur outside a hospital. Time to defibrillation is the most important factor in survival – every minute that passes decreases the chances of survival by 10 per cent. After 10 minutes, the chances of a person surviving are virtually zero.
The St John Ambulance WA Community First Responder system is a unique project that has contributed to the advancement of health and wellbeing outcomes across the state in both regional and metropolitan areas.
By linking locations such as businesses, community groups and public areas with defibrillators (also known as AEDs) to the State Operations Centre, a triple zero communications officer can alert a first responder location when someone nearby suffers a cardiac arrest. The AED can be deployed and provide potentially lifesaving defibrillation in the critical moments before the ambulance arrives.