Coles staff ready with a defibrillator they hope they will never have to use

Specially trained staff at Coles Narrabri now have fast access to state of the art medical equipment to intervene if a customer experiences a sudden cardiac arrest.

Speed counts in helping a heart attack victim and Coles has installed potentially life saving Automated External Defibrillators within reach in the store.

A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current to the heart.

Coles Narrabri, and the Coles network of more than 820 stores across Australia, is partnering with the Heart Foundation to encourage Australians to look after their hearts, launching a massive awareness drive to Coles’ 21 million weekly customers.

Narrabri Coles manager Jamie Cook said the store’s defibrillator is ready for use when needed.

Coles will have eight staff trained in first aid and the use of the defibrillators including Jamie and service supervisor Clare Gett who are already trained.

“In the event of an emergency trained staff will be able to attend immediately, assess the situation and see what needs to be done” said Mr Cook. “The defibrillator has easy step by step instructions to tell the operator what to do.”

The defibrillator is ready for use to help cardiac arrest victims in the store, but if there was emergency in close proximity, say on the pavement, help could be quickly given as well.

St John Ambulance Australia CEO Gordon Botwright congratulated Coles for providing all stores with a defibrillator.

“If victims receive defibrillation within the first few minutes their chances of survival are significantly strengthened from just five per cent without defibrillation to more than 70 per cent,” he said.

Heart disease is Australia’s biggest killer, with more than 18,000 people losing their lives each year. Coles is supporting the Heart Foundation in its mission to encourage more Australians to have a Health Heart Check with their doctor.

Coles Director of Safety David Brewster said the safety of customers and team members was a priority at Coles, with a minimum of five team members at every supermarket trained and accredited in first aid by St John Ambulance Australia so they can help in medical emergencies, including performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac arrest.

“All our first aid team members will be trained in the use of the AED, and we have chosen an easy-to-use device that includes audio and visual instructions so that just about anyone can use it in the case of an emergency.”