New AED available at local Red Cross
The New Plymouth branch of New Zealand Red Cross has added a new defibrillator to its list of medical equipment for hire.
The charitable organisation bought the AED (automated external defibrillator) as a life-saving tool available for short-term use in and around Taranaki for day or weekend events.
‘‘The objective for us is, as a branch, we are trying to support our community so we thought this could be a valuable aid for people for specific events,’’ said branch president Philippa Parker.
The compact machine is portable and user-friendly, simply open the case and it prompts the user to ‘‘stay calm’’ before it leads them step by step through easy-tofollow instructions.
‘‘Anyone can use it. It’s proved they saves lives,’’ Parker said.
The AED gives electric shocks to the heart when it is in cardiac arrest, and research shows that in the case of a life or death incident, the patient’s chance of survival decreases by seven to 10 per cent for every minute that passes without defibrillation.
Parker said that as Red Cross volunteers they often undertook a lot of small initiatives within the community that often flew under the public radar.
Research shows, every year more than 2000 New Zealanders will suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital. The use of an AED within three to five minutes of someones collapse can increase the chance of their survival by up to 40 percent.
KartSport Taranaki often holds outdoors events trackside and was quick to take advantage of hiring the defibrillator for its monthly club days.
‘‘The peace of mind it gives me to be able to provide this service at our motorsport event, should it be needed, is wonderful,’’ said KartSport Taranaki first aid officer Vanessa Dwyer.
‘‘The chance of saving a life with the AED present is too great to ignore,’’ Dwyer said.
Dwyer said the pick up and drop off process to the New Zealand Red Cross branch in New Plymouth was straightforward and she recommended it to any first aider if they were helping at a community event.
All money from hiring the AED will be returned to the local branch and go towards supporting local community programmes. To inquire phone the Taranaki Service Centre on 06 75 4697 or email newplymouth@redcross.org.nz