Courageous people helping save lives

Bystanders are stepping up to help save lives as cardiac arrest emergency cases reach record highs, according to new research by Ambulance Victoria (AV).

The latest Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) Annual Report reveals paramedics responded to 7,361 cardiac arrests in 2021/22 – a rise of 5.8 per cent.

When cardiac arrests were witnessed by members of the public, 79 per cent of people were willing to step up and commence life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – up from 77 per cent a year earlier.

More bystanders are also using public automated external defibrillators (AEDs) which significantly improve survival rates. In 2021/22, 107 cardiac arrest patients received a shock from an AED before paramedics arrived, up from 82 the year prior.

“We know that minutes matter in a cardiac arrest and that if a person receives bystander CPR and defibrillation, their chance of survival more than doubles,” AV Director Research and Evaluation Dr Ziad Nehme said.

“We can proudly say that Victoria has best cardiac survival rates in Australia, and one of the best in the world.”

Frankston teenager Jasper Wickes is alive today thanks to the life-saving efforts of bystanders who immediately called Triple Zero (000) and started the chain of survival. In 2021/22, 360 Victorian patients like Jasper were discharged from hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The 16-year-old was playing basketball at Hoop Culture in Carrum Downs on 8 January when he collapsed in front of his team.

The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority’s (ESTA) Triple Zero call-taker calmly guided Jasper’s coach of four years, Hayden Jardine, who started mouth to mouth. GoodSAM Responder Jess Purcell was notified of the emergency and came running from a nearby dance studio and began chest compressions.

Jess, who had only registered for GoodSAM just days before Jasper’s cardiac arrest, drew on years of CPR training as a scout.

Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedics arrived within seven minutes. Jasper’s heart was successfully restarted, and the crew took him to Monash Medical Centre in Clayton.

Dr Nehme said Jasper’s survival showed how GoodSAM Responders can make a real difference.

“With more Victorians suffering cardiac arrests than ever before, AV’s GoodSAM Responder program has never been more vital,” Ziad said.

GoodSAM is a life-saving smartphone app that connects Victorians in cardiac arrest with volunteers who are willing to start CPR and use an AED in the first critical inutes while paramedics are on the way.

There are three simple steps to save someone’s life: Call (Call Triple 000), Push (Perform CPR) and Shock (use on an AED).

Patients who received bystander CPR had a higher survival rate (11 per cent) compared with those with no bystander CPR (5 per cent).

The VACAR report is available via https://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/about-us/research/research-publications/.