Cardiac arrest survival rate boosted by PADs: Ambulance Victoria

And AV MICA team manager Simon Vendy said this statistic showed how much public access defibrillators (PADs) were needed.

A recent study shows public defibrillator use has increased 11-fold in the 11 years since the equipment was introduced, saving one person’s life every six weeks.

“Early defibrillation saves lives,” Mr Vendy said.

“The earlier the defibrillation, the higher the rate of survival. If defibrillation occurs under five minutes, there is up to a 90 per cent chance of a successful conversion to a normal heart rate.

“It also gives us knowledge that defibrillation has been used early.” 

Mr Vendy visited Sovereign Hill on Tuesday to inspects its three PADs which, luckily, have never been used.

Sovereign Hill senior operations manager Jarrod Page said the defibrillators were easy and self-explanatory to use.

“You can turn it on while you’re still doing CPR and it analyses the patient and tells you if you need to shock them and even to stand clear,” Mr Page said.

He said about 40 Sovereign Hill staff members were trained in its use.

“We want them to be confident doing CPR and using the defibrillators.”

AV has 96 PADs across 22 of Victoria’s busiest locations, including Melbourne Zoo, Federation Square, city loop train stations and Melbourne Airport.

AV emergency medical response co-ordinator Ewan Humphrey said the PADs could be used by any community member, with or without training.

“It’s important to know that attaching a defibrillator to a person who is not in cardiac arrest won’t harm them,” Mr Humphrey said. “If you are in doubt, attach the pads, turn the machine on and follow the verbal prompts instructions.

“If the person needs a shock, the unit will tell you.”

AV research manager Dr Karen Smith said bystanders could save lives.

“Bystander CPR and defibrillation are an integral part of the chain of survival,” Dr Smith said. “Increasing the number of people willing to help a person in cardiac arrest is vital to further improving survival rates.”

*AV’s 4 Steps for Life Plus program teaches how to perform CPR and use a PAD and is free to community groups.

fiona.henderson@fairfaxmedia.com.au