Learmonth gets shock to the heart

IT’S the kind of thing that’s good to have, but no one ever wants to have to use – an automated external defibrillator.

Now thanks to the Mount Bolton and District Lions Club, Learmonth has one that accessible 24 hours a day, seven days week, and it’s publicly accessible.

Located in a special box by the front door of the  police station, Leading Senior Constable Paul Gudde said his office was a smart choice to place the AED.

“The local Lions Club saw that there was a need and this being a central point they decided it would be an appropriate place to put it,” he said.

Costing $2300 to buy, fit out and mount, President of the Lions Club, Noel Edwards said it took a bit of work to get the device in place.

“We seem to do quite a few barbeques these days,” he said. “That’s our main fund raiser.”

Whiles there’s other AEDs in the town, Mr Edwards said the accessibility of the new device was an important factor.

“There’s one at sporting complex and there’s one at the bowls club, but they are locked up and you’ve got to go and find someone who has a key,” he said. “Whereas this one here, you can just come a grab it in an emergency.”

With Learmonth being a minimum 10 minutes away from the nearest Ambulance response, Leading Senior Constable Gudde said the device would make a difference in the “vital time, the first seven minutes or so.”

While he’s trained to use the AED, all police officers are, and is willing to use it if needs be, there’s also plans to run training sessions in Learmonth in case the worst happens.

“The community are talking about getting a nurse out here for people that are interested and have a training day,” Leading Senior Constable Gudde said. “They are fool proof but it’s still daunting to think, ‘I’ve opened that door now what do I do?’”