Heathcote joins lifesaving program

IN a targeted effort to boost cardiac arrest survival rates, Heathcote is set to be one of the newest locations part of the of Heart Safe Communities program.

The effort is a joint initiative between Ambulance Victoria and the Heart Foundation and aims to equip people with the skills to take life-saving action when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

Heathcote ambulance community officer Elizabeth Norrie said the initiative will help locals to feel confident to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use an automated external defibrillator, or AED.

“The minutes between a cardiac arrest occurring and paramedics arriving are an important time for bystanders to act,” she said.

“For every minute that CPR is delayed, survival decreases by 10 per cent.

“Anyone can save a life in three simple steps: call 000, push – perform CPR, and shock use an AED.”

Paramedics and volunteers from Ambulance Victoria will run Call Push Shock sessions at the Heathcote market tomorrow.

Hosts at the stall will give attendees the chance to practice the CPR technique, apply and use an AED, and learn about the GoodSAM smartphone app which has saved more than 55 lives since it was launched in 2018.

GoodSAM seeks to connect people in cardiac arrest with community members who are willing to start CPR in the time before paramedics arrive.

There are currently 29 Heart Safe communities across Victoria, with Heathcote one of 12 towns that joined the program in August.

Heart Foundation Victorian general manager Chris Enright said he hopes that ultimately every Victorian community can be ‘Heart Safe’.

“Working with communities helps improve confidence and willingness to take action in an emergency,” she said.

“We know how effective our Heart Safe Community program can be and how important it is for the local community to drive it to embed change at a grassroots level.”