Life-saving AED a joint project

 

- TONY BAKER

Visitors to the Mangawhai Heads Reserve will notice a new addition – a brand new automated external defibrillator (AED) located on the exterior of the public toilet block. 

An AED is a safe and easy-to-use machine used to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

The placement of a public AED at Mangawhai Heads is a joint project between the Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Service Inc. (MHVLS) who donated the AED, and St John Ambulance, who donated the lock box.

MHVLS chief lifeguard instructor Jess Costello has been working alongside St John Ambulance station manager Andrew Mumford for some time, and the public AED project was something they have both wanted to achieve. 

“The AED is accessible to the public twenty-four hours a day and if people need to use it they just call 111 and ask for ‘ambulance’. The call taker will give you a code to unlock the device,” says Mumford.

“Cardiac arrests can happen any time, so the placement of this AED is crucial for saving people’s lives. Survival rates from cardiac arrest are around thirteen per cent in New Zealand. But the use of an AED within three to five minutes of collapse can increase the chance of survival by up to forty-four per cent." adds Mumford.

Jess Costello says having an AED accessible to the public 24/7 is a real piece of mind for MHVLS. 

“Many of our major incidents occur after hours so having something like this that the public can use will hopefully reduce the loss of life at our beach.”

People can also download an AED locations app showing where the units are in their area.
The project signifies an ongoing relationship between MHVLS and St John and fittingly Andrew Mumford has recently joined the club volunteer lifeguard patrol.

MHVLS have also been working alongside Northland Regional Council regarding tsunami Civil Defence protocols for Mangawhai and how the club would be involved in the event of a natural disaster. 

The club has also been working with the Northland Regional Council harbour master regarding bar crossings and incidents, and has also expanded its after-hours response capacity to Te Arai and Bream Tail.

LEFT: Jess Costello and Andrew Mumford are happy to see their combined efforts providing an AED for the public at Mangawhai Heads Reserve. PHOTO/SUPPLIED