A new partnership between the Indigenous-led Great Southern Aboriginal Medical Service and Community First Responders Australia - supported by the Heart Foundation - will deliver vital emergency response training to Aboriginal communities across six towns in Western Australia's Great Southern region.
The initiative will equip local residents with basic life support skills, including defibrillator use, to improve survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest.
Training begins this week and will take place in Albany, Mt Barker, Tambellup, Katanning, Gnowangerup and Kojonup. The program will include two-hour training sessions, community consultations, and the placement of public access defibrillators. A local Aboriginal liaison has been engaged to ensure the delivery of culturally appropriate training.
Great Southern Aboriginal Medical Service (GSAMS), a not-for-profit organisation led by Noongar leaders, is working to address the lack of a community-controlled health service in the region.
More than 3,000 Aboriginal people live in the region with many over an hour from their nearest Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.
GSAMS Chairperson Lindsay Dean the initiative is about "empowering our communities to save lives".
"With the support of the Heart Foundation, we're building local capacity and ensuring our people are not left behind in emergency care," he said.
Heart Foundation Chief Medical Adviser - First Nations, and Noongar community member Professor Sandra Eades AO said the partnership was vital as "in the case of a sudden cardiac arrest, every minute matters".
"For these communities, learning how to do CPR and how simple it is to use a defibrillator will undoubtedly save lives, particularly in remote areas where emergency care is not as rapidly available as metropolitan areas," she said.
Heart Foundation CEO David Lloyd said the Foundation is "committed to ending heart health inequities in Australia which is why we are proud to support this initiative empowering communities in the Great Southern Region to deliver life-saving CPR and AED training".
