Tenterfield is showing just how serious it is about saving lives, training over 70 members of the community on Friday how to use five new automatic external defibrillators located across the town.

The Tenterfield Bowling Club and Tenterfield Golf Club hosted the training sessions on Friday morning, demonstrating the use of the new Zoll AED machines with an overwhelmingly positive response from those present.

“The demonstration was absolutely fantastic, everybody who saw it was more than happy with the machines. I am absolutely rapt with how easy it is; it tells you everything,” instigator of the project Dr Ian Unsworth said.

The defibrillators will be housed at the golf club, bowling club, swimming pool, School of Arts and with the SES. Dr Unsworth has been the driving force behind the project and said he was not expecting to have five defibrillators installed.

“It’s one thing to have an idea like this, but it takes a lot more to get that idea into reality. I am rapt with the coverage we have now got,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we are one of the safest towns in New South Wales or even Australia. We have defibrillators with the ambulance and the fire service along with the five we have now bought. There are seven defibrillators in a town this size; I think if you’re going to have a sudden cardiac arrest, Tenterfield is the place.

“The population in Tenterfield is going to swell with an elderly influx as more move from the coast and I think the defibrillators will make Tenterfield very community friendly.”

Tenterfield Golf Club secretary manager Wayne Koppel said he was impressed with the demonstration of the machine.

“I was amazed at how easy it was to use. It talks to you and everything, it even tells you to stay calm. There is a screen that updates as it progresses so people a bit hard of hearing can follow too. You could pick it up and use it even if you haven’t been shown how” he said.

“It’s peace of mind in case something happens here. The golf club is isolated and there is often a lot of aged people here, the feedback so far is that it is a good thing.”

Tenterfield Bowling Club manager Ben Brown said the machines were particularly useful because the electro pads used with the portable defibrillators were also compatible with the equipment used by the ambulance and fire service.

“The machines are compatible with the defibrillators in the ambulance too, so if somebody is getting treated and an ambulance comes they can just leave the pads on and keep using them. It’s very useful because if you have to change the pads it can be very hard to get the second pads to stick, apparently,” he said.
Tenterfield swimming pool manager Jeff Moss said that keeping a defibrillator machine at the pool would be a great addition to the facilities and to the town.

“I think the machines will be a massive addition to Tenterfield. They are a very good thing, people should embrace them but they should also be trained in CPR,” he said.

“It’s great to have the sense that you have everything at your disposal to help save a person’s life.”