Stuart Grimley’s office gets defibrillator

The Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party MP wants the defibrillator at 1/15 Pearl Street to be available to anyone in the community – a sentiment Mr Purcell was eager to support, given his own story.

About five years ago Mr Purcell suffered a cardiac arrest while running along Whites Beach.

Mr Purcell’s heart stopped completely. For 40 minutes he was tended to by beachgoers as they waited for emergency crews to arrive.

He said his rescuers struggled to find a place with a defibrillator.

“They called someone to try and find a defibrillator and had trouble shopping around.”

Eventually they found one at The Sands Golf Club, though this was after 30 minutes of searching.

Mr Purcell’s survival and recovery defied the odds and stunned doctors.

But with the new defibrillator at Mr Grimley’s office, the hope is that a defibrillator can be sourced more quickly should a similar incident occur.

Mr Grimley also emphasised that he wanted people to know there was one available at his office in the case of an emergency. He has also put a sign outside.

“Especially in summer you get a lot of tourists, people that don’t really know where things are and if they just see the sign at least they know it’s here if something happens.

“The more you have in the community the better. These devices, they save lives.”

He said he planned to reach out to nearby businesses to ensure they knew where to find a defibrillator .

Mr Purcell agreed this was crucial.

“I think having a defibrillator centrally located in Pearl Street is a good idea especially given it’s a highly populated area over the summer period,” he said.

“Every business doesn’t need to have one, but every business needs to know who has one.”

Mr Grimley’s office is open Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm, but closed from Christmas Day until New Year’s Day. There are instructions on the office window for emergencies outside office hours.

The office has also registered with Ambulance Victoria AED Registry, which means the location will appear when people search for defibrillators either through the Ambulance Victoria app or at registermyaed.ambulance.vic.gov.au.