Zapping our defibrillator numbers
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 notfor-profit 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 Kiwis have access to an AED, the number of units available throughout the country must increase from the roughly 6000 now to the bestpractice standard of 10,000.
To mark the campaign’s launch, three AEDs were given away last month, to the youth organisation Wellington Boys’ and Girls’ Institute (BGI), Himatangi Community Beach Patrol and Ohakune’s Ngati Rangi Community Health Centre. Each group has taken possession of their new medical device 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 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 church and the Housing New Zealand flats in Dixon St. There are plans to mount the AED outside to make it as accessible as possible.
Cigna chief marketing officer Suzanne de Geus says an annual survey by the insurer found that Kiwis considered cardiovascular disease as their second biggest health concern after cancer.
The Become A Heart Saver campaign is about making a visible difference, she says. ‘‘It’s actually about doing something that’s tangible in the community, that’s going to add value in a really meaningful way. Having an AED close to you really can be the difference between life or death.’’
According to Heart Saver, five New Zealanders suffer sudden cardiac arrest each day, and the problem 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.