More than 23,000 Australians will suffer a sudden cardiac arrest each year. Without access to a defibrillator a patient's chance of survival is 10 per cent.
This survival rate rises 70 per cent if a defibrillator is used on the patient within the first five to ten minutes.
To help those who need access to lifesaving equipment, icare Foundation has donated 15 devices to community organisations including non-profits, and Marine Rescue NSW (MRNSW) is one of them. The Botany Port Hacking unit will be among those to benefit.
The defibrillators were initially procured for use during the Invictus Games in 2018 as part of a partnership between the icare Foundation and Invictus Games.
As part of the NSW government insurer, the Foundation took a proactive role in supporting the games, partnering with St John Ambulance NSW to provide first aid training to 1000 volunteers and strategically placed, publicly-accessible defibrillators across event sites.
Marine Rescue NSW Deputy Commissioner Dean Storey says vital devices such as defibrillators will help professionally trained volunteers save lives on and near the water.
"Research from around the world has found that strategically located defibrillators can dramatically improve the chance of someone surviving a sudden cardiac arrest," he said.
"Since MRNSW was established 10 years ago we have progressively equipped boats and bases with defibrillators and ensured that our volunteers are regularly trained on how to use them."
