Defibrillators save lives.  Is your Centre equipped with this life saving device?

A Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the largest cause of death in Australia.  30,000 people die every year.  That’s 600 per week. If you have a Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Australia, there’s a 6% chance of surviving. In Seattle it’s 62%. This is a telling stat. It’s proof that people are dying in Australia for no good reason.

There is a distinct difference between a heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest.  Heart attack occurs when there is a blockage of the coronary arteries, involving a cut off in the supply of blood to the heart, causing parts of the heart muscle to begin to die.  In contrast, a sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating resulting in a blood supply to the vital organs being cut off.

In the event of a sudden cardiac arrest, a defibrillator is an essential piece of first aid equipment.  A defibrillator has just as much place in your business as a smoke alarm or fire extinguisher.

Are you and your staff equipped to step into action should a parent or grandparent suffer a sudden cardiac arrest on your premises at drop off or pick up? What about the children in your care? A defibrillator can be used on any age group.

If your centre has a defibrillator – are all your staff trained and confident to use the device?  Is your defibrillator easily accessible in the event of an emergency?

All childcare educators should undertake training on defibrillators to:

• Learn how to resuscitate someone and get confidence in using a defibrillator
• Understand how safe defibrillators are
• Know your legal obligations and requirements for owning and using a defibrillator

Modern devices are simple to use with easy to understand visual and voice prompts and automated features to make saving lives easy and help users remain focused and in control.

Having a defibrillator puts the odds in your favour and remember in order to give them the best chance of survival the defibrillator should be on within 180 seconds!