Tamariki train to save lives

Hato Hone St John 3 Steps for Life instructor Alan Reilly teaches pupils at Hauroko Valley...
Hato Hone St John 3 Steps for Life instructor Alan Reilly teaches pupils at Hauroko Valley Primary School in Clifden, near Tuatapere. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Hato Hone St John has been teaching New Zealanders including primary school children how to "Save your Teddy" to help them understand the 3 Steps for Life to save someone in cardiac arrest.

Hato Hone St John deputy chief executive clinical services Dr Damian Tomic said one of the organisation’s biggest initiatives it had led over the past three years was Shocktober, "where for the month of October we aim to encourage as many people as possible to learn the 3 Steps for Life by coming along to public sessions and events being held in their region".

The 3 Steps for Life programme is a free one-hour session taught by trained volunteers, which teaches participants how to call 111, start CPR and use a defibrillator.

Dr Damian Tomic
Dr Damian Tomic
They’ve also been focused on providing CPR and defibrillator training to young people through their school and youth education programmes.

One of these is the St John in Schools programme, which has been in place since 2015, and is delivered in 1974 schools from Bluff to Kaitaia to give children confidence to act and respond in an emergency.

"Supporting communities to install defibrillators locally in accessible public places, for example on a marae or in shopping centres, has been another important step on this journey, as has encouraging those trained in CPR to sign up to the GoodSAM app so they can be GoodSAM responders and be alerted to someone having a cardiac arrest nearby," Mr Tomic said.

It had taken "continuous effort to drive, deliver and improve on this work, as well as measure its success".

Hato Hone St John felt it had been fortunate to have had such strong connections in most regions around the motu, through excellent relationships with emergency colleagues like Fire and Emergency New Zealand and in the private sector, he said.

Maintaining and expanding on those initiatives and partnerships would be key to ensuring St John could achieve the goal of improving patient outcomes and survival rates for all New Zealanders, Mr Tomic said.

"Our Shocktober campaign is a great example of what can be achieved together."

This year’s campaign had seen more than 19,000 people trained in the 3 Steps for Life, he said.

"Every person trained increases the chances of another life saved, so thank you to everyone who has got involved in this year’s campaign.

"Together, we can all make a difference."