Two sponsored defibrillators find homes in Whanganui

Faith City Pastor Ben Hoyle and Faith City administrator Christine Waitai-Ratana with their new on-site defibrillator. Photo / Supplied

Two new defibrillators have been gifted to the Whanganui community to improve cardiac arrest survival rates.

They have been installed at Caroline's Boatshed Bar and Eatery and Faith City Church by St John in partnership with ASB and Philips.

St John's Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) Report, released on Wednesday, March 10, showed St John Ambulance treated more than 2000 people for a cardiac arrest in the community, with only 31 per cent of those surviving at hospital arrival.

The survival rate is now the lowest of the five emergency services St John benchmarks against and St John clinical director Dr Tony Smith said more work and resources are needed to save more lives.

Caroline's Boatshed owner Caroline Norton and Faith City Church Pastor Ben Hoyle said the AED provides reassurance.

"We're grateful to have this device to be able to assist the community in the event of an emergency," Hoyle said.

"The church connects with a number of people in the community, so it's a valuable resource to have on hand."

Findings from the OHCA report also show that Māori and Pasifika are more likely to have a cardiac arrest and less likely to survive.

St John is installing AEDs in public locations, such as marae, schools, businesses and sports grounds, as well as delivering the "3 Steps for Life" programme to teach people how to perform CPR and use an AED.

"Research has revealed that every minute that goes by without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by 10-15 per cent, with only about 13 per cent surviving a cardiac arrest," St John Whanganui territory manager Jamie Butler said.

"We know that this survival rate can be doubled by people taking three easy steps; calling 111 for an ambulance, starting CPR immediately and using the nearest AED.

"Having an AED accessible in a location where many people frequent, means lives can be saved."

St John's clinical research shows more AEDs are needed in remote and socio-economically deprived communities, something ASB is committed to helping with.