New defibrillators will help paramedics save more lives

Queensland’s paramedics will soon be equipped with new life-saving defibrillators to help give them the edge when treating heart attack patients.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the multi-million dollar rollout of new defibrillators was part of the Government’s strong plan to revitalise frontline services in the 2014-’15 State Budget.

“The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) currently has over one thousand defibrillators in use across the state,” Mr Springborg said today. “The first replacements will be rolled out by the end of this year.

“The new defibrillators will enable paramedics to quickly identify medical emergencies such as heart attacks or abnormal heart rhythms and deliver life-saving defibrillation.

“The devices can also continuously monitor a patient’s vital signs including blood pressure, oxygen saturation and heart rate.”

Mr Springborg said research showed defibrillation and early CPR intervention significantly increased a patient’s chances of survival after a cardiac arrest.

“For every minute a defibrillator is not used following a cardiac arrest, the patient’s chances of survival decrease by 10 per cent,” he said.

The new defibrillators, to replace the current LIFEPAK 12 model, will be complemented by other QAS initiatives.

“A new CPR Awareness Program, which will be led by Local Ambulance Committee volunteers across Queensland, will help equip community members to respond to a sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,” Mr Springborg said.

“About three quarters of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home. Giving people skills to effectively treat the patient until paramedics arrive will help save lives.”

Mr Springborg said these complementary, life-saving initiatives were yet another example of the benefits of Queensland Ambulance Service’s transition into Queensland Health.

“Already, we’ve seen the end of ambulance bypass and delivered better patient flow through our hospital emergency departments,” he said. “These initiatives will continue our journey of delivering the best health system, and the best patient outcomes, in Australia.”

(ENDS) 7 June 2014 Media contact: Ian Eckersley 0432 754897