A GIFT from an anonymous donor to Ambulance Victoria has seen an extra 20 automated external defibrillators installed across the Mornington Peninsula over the past two years.
The AEDs are located at sporting clubs, community group venues and individual properties.
Ambulance Victoria acting area manager Metro 10, Jo Wilton, said the donation was a significant health boost for the peninsula.
“Every day, around 20 Victorians suffer a cardiac arrest and only one in 10 survive,” she said. “Minutes matter in cardiac arrests and when a patient receives CPR and a shock from an AED before paramedics arrive, the person’s chance of survival increases by 70 per cent.
Wilton said the AEDs would make a “life-saving difference in this region”.
The defibrillators are light-weight, battery-operated, portable devices used to shock the heart back into rhythm. Anyone can use an AED as the machines tell users what to do. They will not administer a shock unless it is deemed necessary.
Peninsula resident Elizabeth White said the new AEDs would benefit remote parts of the peninsula.
“We live on a long road with large properties and now, thanks to this donation, we have an AED installed on our fence for residents along the road to access whenever someone is in need,” she said. “It makes me feel totally confident.”
There are now more than 150 AEDs registered across the peninsula and Wilton urged the community to register any others in the region.
“If your AED is registered with AV, we share this information with triple zero call takers who can direct bystanders and first responders to AEDs during an emergency,” she said.
“Registering your AED is a small but important step and could mean your device goes on to save a life.”
The latest locations for AEDs on the peninsula are: 51 Bellingham Road, Arthurs Seat; 154 Balnarring Beach Road, Balnarring (Balnarring Foreshore Reserve); 490 Stumpy Gully Road, Balnarring (Rain Hayne and Shine Farmyard); 1 Gilels Way, Balnarring Beach; 149 Disney Street, Crib Point (Western Port Op Shop); 16 Cook Road, HMAS Cerberus (Cerberus Community Hub); 305 Baldrys Road, Main Ridge (Main Ridge Pony Club); 14 Surf Street, Merricks Beach (tennis courts); 29 Kentucky Road, Merricks North; Coleman Road, Portsea (Point Nepean Quarantine Station); 146 McIlroys Road, Red Hill; 30 Ocean View Avenue, Red Hill; 173 Pt Leo Road, Red Hill South; 57 Prout Webb Road, Shoreham (Shoreham Community Association); 7 Byrnes Road, Shoreham (St Peters Catholic Church); 250 Ocean Beach Road, Sorrento (lifesaving club); and 150 Coolart Road, Tuerong (Benton Rise Farm).
To find or register an AEDS go to registermyaed.ambulance.vic.gov.au/find-an-aed
First published in the Mornington News – 1st August 2023
