The Heart Foundation is applauding a new health and safety initiative for staff and customers from Avis Rent-a-Car.
Avis is the first New Zealand rental car provider to install life-saving defibrillators at 20 locations throughout the country, including branches and service centres, as of this week.
In recognition of the growing Asian population and tourist numbers, a Chinese translation of the instructions will sit alongside the new defibrillators, which is also thought to be a first for New Zealand.
“Over the next four weeks we will be installing defibrillators into our branches where we feel they will offer the most benefit to our customers, staff and the wider community,” says Avis’s New Zealand managing director, Kathryn O’Neil.
O’Neil says the credit for this initiative belongs to the Avis staff who championed the idea, which management readily agreed to.
Auckland DHB resuscitation coordinator, Gareth Jenkin who set up a Kiwi app to map defibrillator locations (www.aedlocations.co.nz), believes this 20 addtional units will bring the national tally up to 7000.
“It’s great to see Avis joining a range of companies in New Zealand who take their staff’s and their customers’ safety seriously by writing a cheque for $40,000 and purchasing 20 units,” says Jenkin.
“Defibrillators such as the iPad model purchased by Avis, are designed to be so simple that anyone can operate them with no training. Having a Chinese translation available will save even more lives,” he says.
A cardiac arrest is an emergency. It is frequently due to ventricular fibrillation or “VF”, a chaotic heart rhythm often caused by a heart attack which can be corrected by a defibrillator.
For every minute without CPR or defibrillation, a patient’s chance of survival falls by 7 to 10%*. When using an AED within three minutes of cardiac arrest, approximately 75% of patients survive.
Heart Foundation heart healthcare manager Kim Arcus says adding 20 defibrillators nationally will potentially save lives.
“The Heart Foundation is fully supportive of businesses that take the initiative to train staff in CPR and provide life-saving tools in their premises and educate people about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack,” says Arcus.
“These signs can include chest discomfort, excessive sweating, shortness of breath and nausea. Women can also experience other less obvious symptoms including pain in the upper back, nausea, sweating and unusual fatigue,” she says.
“We are also keen to get the message out there that people must always call 111 regardless of how the patient has responded and to be aware of the signs,” says Arcus.
The 20 Avis locations from North Harbour to Invercargill will display the recognised international symbol indicating that a defibrillator is onsite.
A training programme for Avis staff will accompany the defibrillator installations and include the importance of calling 111 alongside the use of a defibrillator.
