Announced today, Monday 17 February, Canberra’s light rail fleet now has a defibrillator on each of its 14 vehicles, ready if needed to help save lives.
“We are proud to partner with the Rotary Club of Aurora Gungahlin who has funded this wonderful initiative,” Canberra Metro Operations, General Manager Mr Tilo Franz said.
“The portable defibrillators will be placed securely in the driver cabins of each light rail vehicle, with drivers and customer service officers ready to use them should urgent medical assistance be needed.
“Passengers on board can press any of the ten Emergency Help Points on the light rail vehicles to access a defibrillator. The defibrillators can assist with survival rates in a cardiac arrest until the arrival of the ACT Ambulance Service.
“The key to improving survival rates of sudden cardiac arrest is to apply defibrillation in the first three minutes,” Mr Franz said. When a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes of collapse from cardiac arrest, a person’s chance of survival is dramatically increased – by as much as 50-75%. The ability to use a defibrillator immediately, allows the best chance of survival until the arrival of an ambulance.
St John Ambulance will help to maintain each of the defibrillator units to ensure they are in peak working order ready to be activated in a medical emergency.
As well as launching the defibrillator units, Canberra Metro Operations also announced two opportunities for light rail customers to get a first-hand look at how to operate the units.
St John Ambulance trainers were on site demonstrating how to use defibrillators at Gungahlin Village, near Coles Supermarket today, 17 February 10 am till 2 pm and will be at Gungahlin Marketplace near Lowes Menswear from 3.30 pm – 7.30 pm on Friday 21 February 2020.
