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The only way to reduce deaths from cardiac arrest in rural Rodney and Kaipara is for everyday people to learn the basics of resuscitation, paramedics say.
October 16 was World Restart a Heart Day, aimed at raising awareness about the importance of bystander knowledge in CPR and resuscitation.
Don Gutsell has been a paramedic for more than 30 years. He says that early response from the public is critical for patient survival before a first responder arrives.
Don’s business Pro+Med has been offering first aid courses since 1992 and does 1500 training events each year, including in Rodney and Kaipara.
He recommends that everyone take a specific course in CPR with a focus on learning to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). He says CPR doesn’t save a life on its own but the chance of survival is much higher with the help of an AED.
“In Seattle, half of the population knows how to use one and their survival rate is high. In New Zealand, it’s currently just 14 per cent,” he says.
Don says that personal disposable AEDs will soon come on the market that will cost $600 – a significant reduction in current prices, which start from $2300.
There are a few things he recommends that people can do right now to help save lives, potentially even their own.
Everyone should have the AED locator app downloaded on their phone and ready in case of an emergency.
Every portable first aid kit should be stocked with aspirin, which is sold at the supermarket under the name Disprin.
Don says aspirin dissolves blockages in the heart and should be taken as soon as someone identifies they are having chest pains.
“It should be broken up and placed under the tongue. That way it is absorbed in a minute instead of 20 minutes after swallowing.”
Another mobile app that Don is trying to encourage everyone to download is the Good SAM app. When activated in an emergency, Good SAM automatically contacts emergency services, but also puts out an alert to nearby paramedics who may be able to assist sooner.
It alerts first responders, including firefighters, police, and retired or off-duty paramedics, who have signed up to the app.
Maungaturoto’s Simon Townsend is one such paramedic. He says that, in the rural north, people cannot just expect that an ambulance will arrive in time to save someone’s life.
He was frustrated last year when a 91-year-old woman in Maungaturoto died from a heart attack just one kilometre down the road from him, because the ambulance took hours to arrive. He says Good SAM could have prevented the death.
Simon has responded to around 40 incidents since signing up with the app, including once while shopping in Warkworth.
