The Victorian Farmers Federation Making Our Farms Safer (VFF MOFS) team have partnered with St John Ambulance Victoria to give away seven automated external defibrillator (AED) to support Victorian farming communities. This give away is open to all Victorian farming communities.
To apply for a free St John G5 AED, please fill in an application form via the VFF MOFS website before 24 July, 2021. Winners will be announced and contacted on 17 August 2021.
VFF President, Emma Germano said this giveaway will provide farming communities the resource and support they need.
“Farm safety is our highest priority and I strongly encourage Victorian farmers to apply for an AED if they don’t have one in their local community.”
On 1 February, 2020, Spring Hill CFA Captain, Scott Selle suffered a cardiac arrest while attending a caravan fire in Glenlyon. Captain Selle was revived by fellow firefighters, including his partner Kath, using a defibrillator from one of the CFA fire trucks.
He encouraged rural communities to apply for the defibrillators as having a locally accessible defibrillator could be the difference between life and death.
“I’m a farmer so I’m mostly working on my own. If this had happened while I was working on the farm, I wouldn’t be here today,” Captain Selle said.
“Defibrillators save lives, it’s that simple. The defibrillator brought me back to life within two minutes and I’m so grateful we had them available to us.”
According to the latest quarterly performance data released by Ambulance Victoria, urgent response times in regional Victoria are five minutes longer than metro areas on average.
St John Ambulance Victoria CEO, Gordon Botwright says timing is crucial when suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest.
“Every minute without defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by 10 per cent. If the patient receives defibrillation within the first few minutes of having a sudden cardiac arrest their chance of survival is increased to beyond 70 per cent.“
“It is critical more easily accessible defibrillators are available in the community, so bystanders can act immediately when required.”
“We are proud to partner with the Victorian Farmers Federation to support our Victorian farming communities and provide them with seven lifesaving defibrillators to ensure a safer more resilient community.”
St John Ambulance Victoria is dedicated to helping people in sickness, distress, suffering or danger. The nation’s largest and preferred First Aid training provider, St John is a predominantly self-funded charity that has been providing services to Victorians for over 137 years
The MOFS project is funded by the Victorian Government through the Growing Victoria’s Agriculture election commitment and the Smarter Safer Farms program.
To enter for the St John AED give away, complete the application form online at https://defibrillator.vff.org.au/