Visitor Centre can now save lives!

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor, Shane Van Styn, and Geraldton Pensioner Social Club President, Annie Smith-Townsend, receiving the Automated External Defibrillator from St John Ambulance Regional Manager Mid West, Lynne Hunt.

St John Ambulance Western Australia recently handed over an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to City of Greater Geraldton Mayor, Shane Van Styn, which will be housed at the Geraldton Visitor Centre.

The defibrillator was kindly donated to the Visitor Centre by the Geraldton Pensioners Social Club as a need to have more of the machines located in Geraldton was identified.

It will also be listed on the St John Ambulance Community First Responder System (CFRS), which creates a direct link between St John, the triple zero (000) call centre, local communities and organisations.

This direct link enables individuals to provide immediate assistance to cardiac arrest victims in that time critical period before an ambulance arrives – when it matters most. 

St John Ambulance Regional Manager Mid West, Lynne Hunt, said the news of having another defibrillator in Geraldton was wonderful.

“For every minute that a victim is not defibrillated, their chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent,” Ms Hunt said.

”By adding this machine to the St John Ambulance Community First Responder System in Geraldton we are significantly increasing the chance of survival and recovery for people who may enter sudden cardiac arrest.

“In 2014 the Community First Responder System had 871 locations operating across Western Australia and today we have more than 1065 locations, including 615 devices in regional WA.

“Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death across Australia. More people die from cardiac arrest annually than from road accidents and it can happen to anyone, of any age, at any time.

“These amazing machines can be used by anyone, regardless of previous training, because they are equipped with simple, easy-to-follow instructions.” 

The Community First Responder program enables bystanders to help save lives when someone suddenly suffers cardiac arrest.

When a person unexpectedly collapses, bystanders can phone 000 and request an ambulance.  The St John Ambulance State Operations Centre checks to see if the location is registered on the Community First Responder System.  The location is then called, the defibrillator retrieved and applied to the patient.