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Upper Colo joins the life-saving Community Defib Project

Feb 18, 2021

 

With every minute that goes by during a sudden cardiac arrest, without a defibrillator the victim’s chance of survival is reduced by 7-10%.

 

And the issue is made worse when you live in some of our more isolated communities, so it’s good to hear that after the continuing success of the roll-out in the Macdonald Valley area and St Albans, Upper Colo is now also on board.

“The Community Defib Project is very excited to see the project grow across the state and particularly the Hawkesbury area. The Upper Colo Valley community is the seventh community to join the project,” said Sophie Wills, founder and chairperson of the Community Defib Project.

 

The Upper Colo Valley is just over 40km from the nearest ambulance station, and similar to other communities on board with the defibs – Wisemans Ferry, St Albans, and Spencer – it’s a long way from help when there is a medical emergency.

 

“With every minute that goes by during a sudden cardiac arrest without a defibrillator the victim’s chance of survival is reduced by 7-10%, that’s a very short time that you must access a defibrillator in to save the life,” Ms Wills said.

 

She added that the project’s expansion to the Upper Colo Valley community was another step in improving sudden cardiac arrest outcomes across the state.

 

“With such a strong community presence following the 2019/20 tragic bushfires, it is a perfect time to get the Upper Colo Valley community on board,” said Ms Wills.

 

“Local resident Paul Bryant will lead the local committee to install 24/7 community accessible defibrillators across strategic places within the Upper Colo Valley community. Our goal is to ensure that every community member within the Upper Colo Valley community is within no more than 10 minutes from a life-saving AED.”

 

Mr Bryant, who is well known in the Upper Colo area said it was great to be working with Ms Wills and her team to bring Defibs to the Upper Colo Valley.

 

“The support from the community is very encouraging,” he said.

 

“This will be a game changer knowing that residents and visitors will have access to defibs in a relatively short amount of time, should the need arise whilst waiting for an ambulance to arrive. We will hopefully end up with three to five defibs in the valley to assist the local community.”

 

Ms Wills said the organisation had received invaluable support from business owners, local donors and the NSW Government to install more than 30 community AEDs for the community as a part of the Community Defib Project.

 

“We’re solely reliant from the support of local donors, sponsors and grants and will be looking for community support from the Upper Colo Valley community.”

 

To find out how you can be involved, or to make a donation, contact info@communitydefibproject.org.au

 
 

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