Passenger Rail, Safety, Standards & Regulation

Defibrillators rolled out to Perth stations

Western Australia’s Public Transport Authority (PTA) has installed 18 potentially lifesaving defibrillators at train stations around the Transperth network, as part of a trial in partnership with St John WA.

The defibrillators are available 24 hours a day to the public to potentially save the life of in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest.

The train station defibrillators are placed in locked boxes and can be accessed by calling triple zero and receiving an access pin. Their locations appear on the St John First Responder app, which displays nearby defibrillators.

On top of the 18 on-station defibrillators, another 10 have been installed in PTA transit officers’ mobile patrol vehicles.

The program represents a total investment of $50,000.

“There are more than a million passenger boardings on the train network every week, so our staff are well-trained on how to deal with a medical emergency,” PTA spokesman David Hynes said.

“Investing in these life-saving devices at our train stations and in our mobile patrol vehicles will enable our staff, other emergency responders and the public to deal with medical emergencies quickly and effectively.”

St John clinical services director Dr Paul Bailey said cardiac arrest was a leading cause of death in WA, and having access to a defibrillator would ensure people can get immediate help prior to an ambulance arriving.

“In the event of a sudden cardiac arrest, the first few minutes are vital,” Dr Bailey said. “For every minute that a person is not defibrillated they lose a 10 per cent chance of survival, and after 10 minutes the chances of recovery are virtually nil.”

The results of the PTA’s three-month-trial will be assessed to determine if a wider rollout is appropriate.