SWAN Hill District Health will be better prepared to deal with emergency patients suffering a cardiac arrest with the purchase of an upgraded defibrillator for the hospital’s acute ward.
The hospital has earmarked the funds from this year’s Charity Golf and Bowls Day — about $12,000 — to go towards the purchase.
The new defibrillator technology is intended to increase the convenience and speed at which acute ward staff can administer an electric counter-shock to a cardiac arrest patient, according to the ward’s assistant nursing manager Katarina Luks.
“Advances in technology make these machines easier to use, meaning our clinical staff don’t need advanced training to use them,” Ms Luks said.
“We do already have a defibrillator here, and it is in good working order still, but it is older and with a new one it will be easier to use.”
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Friday’s Guardian (February 27).
