ST JOHN NT
NEWSROOM

A new initiative from St John NT is helping Darwin Festival to better resource their event emergency management.

‘Friends of St John’ involves supporting community organisations to build resilience for the benefit of all Territorians.

“We want community events and organisations to feel confident in delivering first aid to those who need it,” said St John NT CEO Judith Barker.

“Most organisations have the resources required to deliver their own first aid services, they just need a bit of a jump start, or in this case a defibrillator!”

Thanks to the Northern Territory Government’s community benefit fund grant, Darwin Festival will be one of the many community organisations who receive a lifesaving automatic external defibrillator (AED) from St John NT.

Over 40% of Darwin Festival staff, and 100% of their security is first aid and CPR trained.

Following a short training session and online AED training, the Festival will be well-equipped to handle emergencies.

“While we have St John NT Event Health Services covering many of our festival dates, this donation allows us greater coverage in emergencies,” said Darwin Festival CEO James Gough.

“We have audiences and performers of varying ages and backgrounds who come to enjoy the Festival across 18 days, and we aim to be able to provide the best first aid to all who might require it.”

In Australia 33,000 people suffer from a cardiac arrest each year. Contrary to popular belief, sudden cardiac arrest can happen at any age, and without a defibrillation, less than 5% of sufferers will survive.

“We are pleased to be able to provide an AED to such a landmark Territory event – early defibrillation is the key to success in a cardiac event,” said CEO Judith Barker.

“We encourage all organisations who have a defibrillator to register their device with our First Responder App. This allows people to locate the closest AED should they find themselves in an emergency.”

The External Defibrillators are simple to use, powerful and give more people the chance to act in an emergency.

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Image: St John NT Clinical Services Manager Duncan McConnell hands over the defibrillator to Darwin Festival CEO James Gough.

St John NT: Kate Hulls media@stjohnnt.asn.au; 0428 157 762

Darwin Festival: Matt Fraser matt@originalspin.com.au; 0401 326 00