The new AED outside the Matangi Four Square store, with Alan Grant (St John) and Henry Strong (HEARTSafe).
Members of the Matangi community are now much more likely to be brought back from the brink of death after an automated external defibrillator (AED) was installed at the local Foursquare on Tauwhare Rd.
“AEDs significantly improve the chances of someone surviving a cardiac arrest if they are used within five minutes of the attack happening, so having a 24/7 accessible AED nearby is very desirable,” explained Alan Grant, a volunteer ambulance officer in Cambridge who has helped bring several AEDs to local communities through HEARTSafe Cambridge.
The organisation, along with St John, has helped introduce AEDs to several local areas including Fencourt, Te Miro, Eureka, Kairangi, Kaipaki and in central Cambridge. Several of the sites are marked with a red AED street sign or can be found by using the mobile phone app “AED Locations” – free to download. It shows where the nearest AED is to your location and details the distance, time and route to get there.
Those who need to use an AED can simply dial 111, ask for an ambulance, say where you are getting the AED from and the 111 operator will give you the 4 digit code to unlock the lock box. Grab the AED, head back to the patient, open the AED, and simply follow the very clear audio instructions on how to use it. If possible, have one person perform CPR while another goes and gets the AED.
Studies have shown that the likelihood of survival following cardiac arrest is more than doubled when a bystander uses an AED.
The latest installation at the Matangi Four Square followed an open afternoon held in the centre of the village, where the Cambridge branches of HEARTSafe and St John demonstrated CPR and AED use to help raise the required funds. A similar event is being planned for the Karapiro community for a Sunday afternoon in May, date to be confirmed, to fundraise for an AED installation at Karapiro village.
The new AED was funded with the help of an open afternoon held in the centre of the Matangi village, where HEARTSafe and St John demonstrated CPR and AED use.
