Emma Pritchard
There’s a new addition to the Village Green Hotel in Grafton.
And it could save your life.
Located on the external wall on the Turf Street side of the popular establishment, the recently erected defibrillator is the latest to be fitted throughout the local region.
And it won’t be the last.
Funded in a joint partnership between the Village Green Hotel and Grafton Midday Rotary, the defibrillator provides around the clock accessibility for Clarence Valley residents to offer emergency medical treatment in the sudden event of a heart attack, and is specially designed to be used by anyone, with verbal and visual instructions that guide operators through the process.
President of Grafton Midday Rotary Mark Thompson said the newly placed lifesaving machine is an important safety feature for the community, and he is keen on spreading as many of them around as possible.
“We’ve been doing partnerships with a few hotels around town (to help provide defibrillators to the general public), and we’ve previously partnered with the Crown Hotel Motel, and the Blue Goose Hotel in Junction Hill, and now the Village Green Hotel,” he said.
“You need to access a defibrillator within five minutes of a heart attack occurring to help save a person’s life.”
In NSW, more than 8500 people each year experience an out of hospital heart attack.
Only 12 percent survive.
For every minute that passes after a heart attack occurs, the chance of survival decreases, and a quick response can be the difference between life and death.
Mr Thompson felt very proud to see the defibrillator arrive at the Village Green Hotel last week and said keeping people safe within the community is paramount.
“It’s a great service for the community, and we (Grafton Midday Rotary) are also part of that community,” he said.
Village Green Hotel Venue Manager Madeline McDonald also welcomed the addition of the defibrillator to the property and gratefully acknowledged Grafton Midday Rotary, along with local patrons and supporters for their fundraising efforts to enable the device to be delivered and installed on site, adding it is the only defibrillator currently available in the Westlawn area.
When asked if Grafton Midday Rotary will be partnering with other hospitality venues to have more defibrillators distributed throughout Grafton, especially in areas where their numbers are lower compared to others, Mr Thompson said it comes down to a matter of fundraising.
“We want to continue to work with local venues to enable more defibrillators to be readily available to our community,” he said.