A defibrillator outside the Wanneroo Community Centre will be accessible to the public in emergencies.
Camera IconA defibrillator outside the Wanneroo Community Centre will be accessible to the public in emergencies. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

City of Wanneroo and St John WA install 24hr accessible defibrillator at community centre

Staff WriterWanneroo Times

A DEFIBRILLATOR that members of the public can use in emergencies is now located outside the Wanneroo Community Centre.

St John WA and the City of Wanneroo collaborated to install the life-saving equipment that will be accessible 24 hours a day outside the centre on Civic Drive through the First Responder program.

The program aims to get defibrillators to cardiac arrest victims in the vital minutes before an ambulance arrives and includes an app where people can get first aid first aid instructions, nearby defibrillator locations and notify nearby qualified first aiders.

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According to St John WA, the chance of survival during a cardiac arrest drops by 10 per cent for every minute that passes, and the average ambulance response time in the metropolitan area is nine minutes.

“The new defibrillator will ensure people suffering a cardiac arrest can get immediate help while an ambulance is on the way,” a spokesperson said.

“The best thing about these devices is they can be operated by someone without any training – the machine will actually provide instructions to the user.

“By providing public access to defibrillators located in the community, St John is helping these communities to save more lives.

“The more people who are willing and able to respond in an emergency, the more lives are potentially saved.”

Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts said the defibrillator was a key public asset that would prove indispensable in the case of an emergency.

“Time is of the essence during an emergency, and having a defibrillator on-hand in a central location in Wanneroo’s town centre could be the difference between life and death,” she said.

“A range of different social groups and members of the public use the Wanneroo Community Centre every week, so this initiative has the potential to reach all corners of the community.”

According to the FirstResponder app, there is another defibrillator in nearby Aquamotion but Wanneroo Community Centre device is the only externally-located one in the City that members of the public can access in an emergency.

A spokesman said the City would work with St John to pinpoint suitable locations and explore ways to fund and install further externally-located defibrillators next year.