A community defibrillator donated by MAS is now in a public cabinet near Māngere Town Centre, ready for the next cardiac arrest emergency.

A lifesaving piece of equipment has come to Māngere – one that could make the difference when every second counts.

At a handover ceremony in Māngere in early October, a community defibrillator was donated by MAS to the TWOSEVENFIVE Foundation, providing 24/7 access to a vital piece of medical equipment.

Representatives from MAS, Hato Hone St John and the TWOSEVENFIVE Foundation were present to mark the milestone, recognising it had the potential to help the people of Māngere save a neighbour, friend, family member or stranger.

“We’re grateful to MAS and Hato Hone St John for bringing this lifesaving defibrillator to Māngere,” says TWOSEVENFIVE Foundation co-founder Lily Manase. “It could mean the difference between life and death and will genuinely save lives here.”

MAS, a member-owned insurance, investment and advice mutual, was originally founded by doctors for doctors. While it has evolved over the years, it remains committed to the financial wellbeing of its members.

“As a result, supporting the health and resilience of our communities sits right at the heart of who we are,” says MAS CEO Jo McCauley.

Supplied by Hato Hone St John and MAS, and housed in an external, publicly accessible cabinet in the Māngere Town Centre area, the defibrillator plays an important role in assisting with cardiac arrest.

Defibrillator use is a key part of Hato Hone St John’s 3 Steps for Life – a free programme teaching lifesaving skills for when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

The defibrillator donation comes at a time when the need for rapid community response is clear. Mia Noyes, 3 Steps for Life Delivery Lead at Hato Hone St John, says cardiac arrests are having a significant impact in South Auckland, especially on Māori and Pacific communities.

“This highlights the importance of working alongside communities to increase awareness and help more people survive a cardiac emergency,” Noyes says.

South Auckland has high rates of cardiac arrest but low community response rates, with Māori and Pacific peoples at higher risk. For Māori, cardiac arrests occur at 1.4 times the rate of non-Māori, while Pacific peoples experience cardiac arrest at 1.3 times the rate of non-Pacific peoples.

Cardiac arrest is likely to strike at a younger age too, with the median Māori patient aged 59 years and Pacific peoples aged 60, compared to 69 for non-Māori, non-Pacific peoples. Women are also disproportionately affected, having 60% lower odds of community defibrillation than men.

With 72% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occurring at home, community defibrillation can make a real difference, says Noyes.

“When someone has a shockable rhythm, using a defibrillator is associated with a 2.4 times greater chance of survival.”

With just 6% of cardiac cases currently receiving defibrillation from a Community Responder before an ambulance arrives, access to the new community defibrillator is poised to be a game-changer in delivering the 3 Steps for Life.

The Māngere defibrillator is part of a bigger programme supported by MAS.

“We’re also providing defibrillators in our MAS vehicles across Aotearoa and sponsoring 3 Steps for Life which helps people build lifesaving skills, so communities are better prepared to act when it matters,” MAS CEO Jo McCauley explains.

The partnership between MAS and Hato Hone St John has seen a staggering 32,413 people trained in the 3 Steps for Life between 1 July, 2025 and 30 June, 2026, exceeding the programme’s annual target of 27,000.

The number of New Zealanders trained is set to increase further with this year’s Shocktober campaign, which aims to equip another 17,000 New Zealanders with the skills to respond to cardiac arrest.

This will mean significantly better chances of survival when equipped with equipment like Māngere’s newly installed community defibrillator, or the St John LifeBeat Mini Defibrillators in MAS vehicles.

By helping more people access life-saving skills through 3 Steps for Life and providing access to essential equipment, MAS is building stronger, more prepared communities, where people have the confidence to step forward when every second counts.

With Māngere being among the communities most needing assistance, their donation and handover of a community defibrillator couldn’t have come at a better time.

You don’t need to be a paramedic to make a difference with cardiac arrest – and in fact, the message is simple: call 111, start CPR and use a defibrillator.

Thanks to the partnership between MAS, Hato Hone St John the TWOSEVENFIVE Foundation, people in Māngere can now do exactly that.