A new staff report was shared to Goderich council about the town’s defibrillators.
In the new report, which addresses provincial Bill 141, the “Defibrillator Registration and Public Access Act” was introduced to improve public health and safety by increasing access to automated external defibrillators, or AEDs.
Councillor Liz Petrie, who is a former paramedic, shared that she was happy to find that a town of Goderich’s size was home to 11 AEDs in public facilities.
She also went on to explain that some may be in locked boxes, which may seem counterintuitive, but serves a purpose.
The locked boxes are to protect the AEDs from the elements, and if you find someone in need of medical care, when you call 911, they will provide the code needed to access the defibrillator device.
“Call 911 right away. If you are by yourself, call them right away because time is of the essence and they will provide you with the code for that lockbox,” Petrie explained. “If you are with someone else during a collapse, then have that person call – or have someone call 911 [to] get the access, but the other person go to the person [in need of care] and start the emergency care that is required.”
Mayor Trevor Bazinet also explained the purpose of locking some AEDs in the town, particularly that there was one instance where the AED was in a public place in an unlocked box, and the device disappeared from its location and not returned.
