A Gerringong Rotary initiative has now seen its third defibrillator installed in the centre of Gerringong - in the The Hill’s Take Away Shop - after defibrillators were earlier placed in the Pharmacy and the IGA.

Gerringong Rotary’s Graham St Claire has organised all three defibrillators with installation help from Gerringong Men’s Shed’s Graham Hanna. The Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, helped obtain the funding.

“I am so pleased and impressed with Graham’s work and the work of Gerringong Rotary to make sure people have access to defibrillators,” Mr Ward says.

“Cardiac arrest is something that can happen to anyone. When you use a defibrillator, they are so simple, in fact it is almost impossible to make a mistake because it talks you through what to do.”

Despite their simplicity, all three of these defibrillators are only available to the public during opening hours of the business, with Mr Ward saying they need to be installed where they will be safe and protected.

“I think the coverage we have is pretty good as one of those businesses is generally always open when there are people around, which is when you need them.

“We have ambulance services in town available 24 hours and people should always call triple zero even in addition to defibrillators,” Mr Ward says.

Gerringong Rotary would like to find more businesses that are open to having a defibrillator installed to add to community safety.