Wednesday, 14 June 2017
LOCAL State MP Adam Marshall today announced that sports clubs across the Northern Tablelands would be among those across the state eligible to apply for a 50 per cent co-funding contribution for a lifesaving defibrillator.
Mr Marshall said that as part of the upcoming 2017-2018 NSW Budget, $4 million would be allocated over four years to assist sporting clubs purchase and maintain Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs).
“The first eight minutes after a person has a cardiac arrest are the most critical and early access to CPR and defibrillation can increase the likelihood of survival by up to 75 per cent,” Mr Marshall said.
“We will be rolling out more than 2,500 AEDs over the next four years, under the Local Sports Defibrillation Program, which will also see community members trained in how to use them.
“Many local sporting clubs have already begun purchasing these life-saving devices and I congratulate organisations like the Inverell Lions Club, which recently donated a number of AEDs to local sporting clubs and paced others permanently at local sports grounds.
“This announcement is a huge step forward and I look forward to seeing many AEDs arriving at our local sporting grounds and clubs later this year.”
Mr Marshall said some form of cardiac arrest is experienced by up to 33,000 people in Australia every year.
“With thousands of spectators and players participating in sporting events around the region every weekend, having AEDs at those venues will definitely save lives,” Mr Marshall said.
Applications from clubs will be invited from October this year through the NSW Office of Sport’s website www.sport.nsw.gov.au