Ms. Rachel Evans1
1Wellington Free Ambulance, 19 Davis Street, Pipitea, New Zealand
Biography:
Passionate about first aid and helping in emergencies, Rachel became a first aid instructor in her early 20’s which led to a desire to work on the frontline. Joining WFA in 2013 Rachel gained her (EMT) ATP while volunteering frontline. Rachel now manages the LMF Heartbeat community CPR/AED training programme.
Abstract:
Each year Wellington Free Ambulance trains more than 5,000 people lifesaving CPR skills and how to use an AED in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest. The Lloyd Morrison Foundation Heartbeat Training programme is hugely popular across Greater Wellington and Wairarapa. We will share the origins of this programme, the goals, benefits and feedback from participants who have undertaken this training.
We will also showcase a new innovation and direction for the programme which is enabling the team to focus on working closely with a particular cultural community, tailoring our approach and using members of our team who belong to this community as teachers and leaders for change.
We will link the success of the Heartbeat programme to the recently released Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest report that shows the consistently high levels of bystander CPR and AED use in the WFA region.
One critical factor in the success of this programme is that all training is provided free of charge to individuals, community groups, schools and businesses. This is made possible due to the ongoing financial support received for this programme from Wellington Free’s Cornerstone Partner Julie Nevett and The Lloyd Morrison Foundation.
We will also document the increase in AED devices available to the community through this programme, which again improves the community preparedness for people experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest. Using a case study experience to demonstrate not only the lifesaving impact of public AED’s but also how a co-response between Fire and Ambulance saves lives.