Campaign aims to increase AEDs

Increasing the numbers of defibrillators in New Zealand is a lifesaving exercise.

The company Heart Saver has committed to giving away 12 automated external defibrillators (AED) over 12 months to community groups, schools or not-forprofit organisations through its Become a Heart Saver campaign.

Insurance company Cigna and GrownUps, a lifestyle website for over 50s, have teamed up with Heart Saver to double this number. Now two AEDs will be given away each month until June 2018.

To ensure more New Zealanders have access to an AED, the number of units available throughout the country must increase from the approximately 6000 now to best-practice standards of 10,000.

To mark the campaign launch, three AEDs were given away in June, to the youth organisation Wellington Boys’ and Girls’ Institute (BGI), Himatangi Community Beach Patrol and the Ngati Rangi Community Health Centre in Ohakune. They took possession of their AEDs in the past fortnight.

BGI director of youth and community projects Ross Davis says a former employee entered the campaign as a parting gift, and being chosen was a nice surprise.

‘‘When we heard from Cigna that it was a way of supporting the work that we’ve been doing it was quite a boost.

‘‘In this sort of work you do need people cheering you on.’’

He says it reinforces BGI as a community hub in its central Wellington location near St John’s in the City and the Housing New Zealand flats in Dixon St.

There are plans to mount the AED outside to make it as accessible as possible, Davis says.

According to Heart Saver, five New Zealanders suffer sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) each day, and SCA kills five times that of the national road toll each year.

Patients who are defibrillated within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest have the greatest chance of surviving. A defibrillator costs about $2400.

For more information about the Become a Heart Saver campaign visit heartsaver.co.nz.