Sillees Defibrillator Support Group

Public benefits

The direct benefits which flow from the purposes is that a defibrillator will be available in the case of a medical emergency until medical help arrives. A second benefit is to coordinate the use of existing defibrillators in the area. A third benefit is ensuring the community have access to, along with the ability to, operate a defibrillator in

an emergency situation and potentially saving the lives of people in our remote community. These benefits will be demonstrated through feedback from members of the community who have benefited from our call out and use of defibrillators. In providing defibrillation a person administrating defibrillation could risk the lives of bystanders or themselves if they touch the patient while shock is being administered however the training provided is clear that everyone stands back. Risk assessment is an important element of the training to ensure that a person does not put themselves in a dangerous situation, thus the benefits outweigh the harm. The benefit is for the inhabitants of the Sillees area or someone visiting the area who becomes unwell. A private benefit to trustees may arise from our ongoing training where skills are learned which are transferable to other settings. A trustee might also benefit from the defibrillator being used on them or a family member but because of the life threatening nature of the service this is not something the trustee would seek unless a medical emergency and in this case the service is accessed as any other member of the community would access it. These benefits are incidental and necessary to ensure the benefit is provided to our beneficiaries. 3

What your organisation does

The Sillees Defibrillator Support Group maintains 5 defibrillators within the 5 local communities along the Sillees River. The group run regular training sessions in the use of defibrillators. The group also run health awareness sessions.