Linton Park Community Centre gifted external defibrillator

Automated external defibrillators. Photo / File

A new automated external defibrillator (AED) has been gifted to the Linton Park Community Centre today, a place that knows all too well how important they are.

The life-saving device was donated by ASB, in support of efforts by St John to
improve cardiac arrest survival rates in New Zealand.

Community centre manager Veena Kameta said the defib would be hugely beneficial to the centre as it provided for people from 0 to 88 years of age.

"A member of our staff had a real scare after having two heart attacks in the past. One
of them caused her to go into cardiac arrest three times in hospital and she was saved
by a defibrillator," Kameta said.

"At any given time, something could happen."

The centre was nestled in between several suburbs and surrounding schools, playgroups, parks and reserves.

About 2,000 people a year were treated for a cardiac arrest that happened in the community. The chance of survival could be greatly improved with bystander CPR and use of an AED.

People in low-income areas were not only twice as likely to suffer a cardiac arrest but
had considerably fewer public AEDs available.

St John was going to great lengths in communities around New Zealand to install AEDs
in public locations, as well as teaching people how to use them and how to perform CPR.

"Studies by St John have revealed that every minute that goes by without CPR or
defibrillation reduced the chance of survival by 10-15 percent," St John Lakes territory manager Leisa Tocknell said.

"Having an AED accessible in a community centre, where crowds of people frequent,
means lives can be saved."