Western News: May 13, 2021

WESTERN NEWS Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Thursday May 13 2021 3
New use for old defibrillators
• By Bea Gooding
THE HORNBY Community
Patrol has been gifted life-saving
equipment to assist them in
their efforts to keep residents
safe.
The city council aquatics team
has partnered with the New
Zealand Red Cross to provide
automated external defibrillators
in the community.
Formally available in city
council facilities, they are
already back in use. The donation
was also extended to the
Christchurch North Community
Patrol.
“While the defibrillators have
saved several lives in council
facilities, including poolside and
in work areas, they are suitable
for community use for another
few years,” city council head of
recreation, sports and events
Nigel Cox said.
“We update our defibrillators
to best meet the needs of our
busy spaces and some of the
older models can be reused in
the wider community.
“These are handed to Red
Cross for a full check and new
batteries and pads before a
suitable community home is
found.”
New Zealand Red Cross
LIFE-SAVING: NZ Red Cross national products manager Marcus Bird (left) and city
council training adviser Ben Warwick donates a defibrillator to Hornby Community Patrol
member Norm Williams.
PHOTO: NEWSLINE ​
national products manager
Marcus Bird said that the
city council AEDs – initially
provided through Red Cross –
still have “plenty of life left and
are ideal for community groups
that may not normally have
access to the devices.”
“Nearly half of those people
treated for cardiac arrest
survive thanks to a defibrillator
provided by a community
responder,” he said.
“They are such an important
piece of the health and safety
kit, with the council AEDs at a
range of facilities and out in the
hills environments.
“With the council upgrading
AEDs to the latest technology at
high-use facilities such as pools,
we can find a use for the older
models. In this case, several
community patrols had already
approached us about keeping
AEDs in their patrol cars.”
The defibrillators are in good
working order and can be repurposed,
cleaned and checked out
- with new batteries if needed
- and used for a further five to
seven years.
“The more AEDs out there in
the wider community, the better
the chance of survival following
a cardiac arrest,” Bird said.
Many buildings
free to access
• From page 1
The colleges will join 44 other
buildings, including the Old Government
building, Muse Art Hotel,
Lane Neave, Rāpaki Church, Fo
Guang Shan Buddhist temple, Te
Hononga Civic Offices, Millstream
apartment and the Lyttelton studio
monastery.
Eighty-five per cent of the buildings
will be free to access.
Said Halliday: “Architecture
is a complex, rich art form and
cultural product – it connects us
with different histories, design,
big and small ideas, materials and
technologies, politics, art, identity,
social and cultural values. There’s a
lot to engage with and learn about
when you focus on a building’s
architecture.
“Longer term we want Open
Christchurch to be a gateway for
more people to get involved in city
making – in the processes and cultures
that shape where we all live.
“Open Christchurch is a celebration
of the city’s architecture.
We’ve packed the programme
with access to a diverse range of
buildings in the hope that’s there
something for everyone.”
•To see the full list,
visit https://openchch.
nz/?mc_cid=9b92e35b57&mc_
eid=UNIQID
JOIN US NOW!
See website for details
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(BHS Podiatry)
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