About 18 Victorians experience cardiac arrest outside hospital each day, and just one in 10 survive.
In an effort to increase the survival rate, paramedics set up shop outside GV Health on Thursday, May 13, to recruit GoodSAM responders - people who were willing and able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if there was an emergency nearby.
GV Health customer service officer Brodie Little, 19, didn’t hesitate to register with the program and download the GoodSAM app to her mobile phone.
Ms Little said it was a “great way to help out”, particularly given there were fewer ambulances available in regional areas, like her hometown of Numurkah.
As a nursing student, Ms Little had some knowledge of what was required to perform CPR and said it was “pretty simple to do basic life support”.
She said she wanted to raise awareness that it was something the general public could do - no matter their age, and even without training.
“I think anyone would be able to give it a go,” she said.
Ambulance Victoria paramedic community support coordinator Norieul Kinross enthusiastically agreed with Ms Little.
“A child could do it!” she said.
Ambulance Victoria Hume regional director Trevor Weston said mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was no longer recommended, and research showed chest compressions were adequate.
He said removing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from the process increased the number of people willing to offer CPR to a community member in need.
When Triple Zero (000) receives a report of a cardiac arrest in Victoria, an alert goes out to GoodSAM responders in the vicinity via the app - to anyone within 400 m in a city and 5 km in regional areas.
The responder who accepts the alert is directed to the location of the person in cardiac arrest to perform CPR until an ambulance arrives, and notified if there is an automated external defibrillator (AED) nearby.
Mr Weston said he was always looking for more volunteers because each second spent waiting for an ambulance during cardiac arrest reduced the likelihood of survival.
“Every minute that CPR is not being done or a defibrillator is not being used, the chance of survival drops by about 10 per cent,” he said.
Victorian GoodSAM responders have saved 53 lives since Ambulance Victoria partnered with the global application three years ago.
And to improve access to critical technology in the region, an AED was installed at Merrigum, Undera and Congupna post offices on Friday, May 14.
To become a GoodSAM responder visit ambulance.vic.gov.au/goodSAM
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