Bowls Australia and APL Healthcare partner for Defib2SaveLives
Bowls Australia have announced an exciting partnership with Australian healthcare simulation, medical and rescue training product provider, APL Healthcare, in a move to increase the prevalence of life-saving defibrillators in bowls clubs across nation.
APL Healthcare was founded by Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance Flight Paramedic John Haines after identifying the correlation between survival of cardiac arrest and prompt defibrillation, and recognising the very limited public access of Automated External Defibrillators.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the second leading cause of death in Australia, with over 30,000 estimated deaths resulting from the condition across the nation in 2013.
Through the partnership, which sees APL Healthcare recognised as Bowls Australia’s preferred supplier for health products, all 1,937 bowls clubs around the nation will be provided with a special discount of $650 per unit on the A10 HeartOn defibrillator device as part of a joint Defib2SaveLives promotion.
Bowls Australian’s Community Development Officers will provide clubs with flyers detailing the promotion and discounted rate of the life-saving machinery, which will be offered to clubs for $1,850 through the partnership.
APL Healthcare National Sales Manager Julian Cosgrave said the partnership with Bowls Australia would make defibrillators more accessible to all bowls clubs.
“Defib2SavesLives is an important initiative, because public awareness of defibrillation still needs to improve in this country,” Cosgrave said.
“We’re doing our part to ensure that defibrillation is financial viable for clubs. A lot of clubs still have a mentality that they cannot afford defibrillators, but this initiative is a really positive step forward to make them available to clubs.
“Time is really critical when someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest, they say that you start to lose 10% chance of survival for every minute that somebody doesn’t act, and you can lose two-to-three minutes just assessing the situation when somebody collapses, so having a defibrillator that is easily accessible and people that are familiar with the product is the best chance of helping someone survive.”
According to Red Cross Australia, defibrillators are crucial to save a life prior to ambulance arrival.
“The best chance of survival for those experiencing cardiac arrest is effective CPR combined with early defibrillation,” Red Cross Australia’s website reports.
“Using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) on a casualty who has experienced a cardiac arrest is vital to their survival.
“An AED delivers measured electric shocks to attempt to restore the heart to a normal effective rhythm.
“Each minute that passes before an AED is used decreases a casualty’s chance of survival.”
Bowls Australia encourages every club to prepare for potential cardiac arrests by investing in the purchase of a defibrillation unit and having a sufficient amount of properly trained first aid and CPR accredited individuals.
To receive the discount on the purchase of APL Healthcare’s A10 HeartOn defibrillator for your club, call 1300 727 580 and quote “Bowls Australia”.
Click here to learn more about APL Healthcare.
FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW, reported by St Johns Ambulance Australia.
• The national road toll in 2013 was 1,193. Deaths from sudden cardiac arrest were estimated over 30,000.
• Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in Australia
• 90 people a day are affected by SCA outside of hospital
• Without defibrillation:
– Survival rate is between 2% and 5%
– For every minute that passes, the chance of survival reduces by 10%
• The average ambulance response time is 9-14 minutes in metro areas – up to 30 minutes in regional areas.
• SCA can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime with the only definitive treatment a defib shock.
Caption: Bowls Australia Chief Executive Officer Neil Dalrymple and APL Healthcare National Sales Manager Julian Cosgrave announce the Defib2SaveLives campaign.
Article: Courtesy Bowls Australia by Aidan Davis
