Van park visitors will be a bit safer with the addition of defibrillators
An estimated 1,000 caravan parks across Australia are to be given funding to ensure the installation of potentially lifesaving defibrillators.
The Federal Government will invest $1 million in the initiative, which has been launched in partnership with the Caravan Industry Association of Australia. The Association’s Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Lamont, says the scheme could make a huge difference to grey nomads.
“Caravan parks are popular holiday destinations – particularly with senior Australians who are at an increased risk of heart attack,” he said. “We also know that in rural and regional areas it can take longer for an ambulance to arrive, given the distances they sometimes have to travel … this program will ensure that if a person suffers a heart attack in a caravan park that lifesaving help is close at hand … anything we can do to make sure that Australians going away caravanning return home safely to their loved ones is a great thing.”
The Caravan Industry Association of Australia will manage the implementation of the program in a 50/50 partnership, with caravan parks contributing half the costs of each defibrillator.
They will work with caravan parks to ensure a speedy roll-out of the program. Funds are available in this financial year. Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said the scheme would make travellers heading out on a camping trip to regional Australia much safer.
“Research shows that if a person is defibrillated within the first five minutes of collapse, their chance of survival is around 90%,” he said. “For every minute that this is delayed, the chances of survival decrease by up to 10% … this initiative will save and protect lives.”
The Government says the investment will also make grey nomads feel safer, knowing that medical help is not far away.
“We know that more are visiting our regions by increasing their attractiveness … with better medical amenities, it will help grow regional economies,” said Minister for Regional Services, Bridget McKenzie. “With 44 cents of every tourist dollar spent in regional areas and the industry providing 8% of employment in the regions, it makes smart economic sense, as well as medical.”
• Do you feel reassured when there is a defibrillator nearby? Comment below.
Yes, our caravan club has a defibrillator and is taken to each rally and during our risk management talk before the start of each rally a member is nominated as first aider for the weekend and they keep the defibrillator with them. We also have one at our village.
This concerns me. How does a nonmedical person know if a person is really having a heart attack or not. Who in the park is going to be qualified medically to admister this? Who gets sued when a mistake is made and it was not a heart attack and should not have been administered. This just makes me want to stay out of caravan parks.
They are being rolled out just about everywhere in public spaces and are automatic. they are meant to be used in conjunction with a ‘000’ call. most ‘000’ operators ask if there is one available depending on the call. If you truly want to avoid them you will soon have to stay at home, they are already in supermarkets, shopping centres, community buildings etc.
Rocket, Your fears regarding incorrect or unnecessary use of an automatic defibrillator are ill founded. Public use devices such as these will not actually administer a shock to the patient if it is not required and cannot manually be forced to do so by the operator. They are fully automatic and monitor heart rhythm all by themselves. As far as being sued is concerned again your fears are ill founded due to protection under the various Good Samaritan Acts across Australia. Please feel free to stay away from Caravan Parks by all means but do not be afraid of automatic defibrillators or to use one in an emergency. Attend a CPR/defibrillator course and get informed …. you might be able to save someones life one day.