Brisbane City Council has taken a bold initiative in trying to save lives.

A roll-out of twenty defibrillators throughout the city will give the public the chance to revive heart attack victims.

Tygar Taylor reports.

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TRANSCRIPT

We’ve seen it all before on E-R but this is the real deal.

Easy to get to, and easy to use the units give step-by-step verbal instructions on what to do in case of emergency.

And don’t worry they won’t start if you have a heartbeat.

Campbell Newman, Lord Mayor: “It is set up so you can’t go wrong, so why not give it a go, save a life.”

Council says the $190,000 program will see another 30 units installed over the next few months.

Campbell Newman, Lord Mayor: “We’ll see them at council pools, we’ll see them at council business centres, we’re also going to be rolling them out with the co-operation with Translink and the State Government transport organisation.”

Similar machines installed around Australia since 2005 have so far saved 14lives.

With survival chances dropping by ten per cent each minute without C-P-R medical experts say there’s nothing to lose.

Christine Barber, St John Ambulance Australia: “The litigation, you know, will I hurt them? Will I hurt myself? and they need to remember that these people are clinically dead, you can’t make them in any worse situation than they already are.”

But will innocent bystanders be hesitant?

Vox one: “I wouldn’t, no, I’m qualified in first aid so I would be fairly confident in using it, yeah.”

Vox two: “But if it’s going to save someones life I suppose you’d sort of, give it a go wouldn’t you?”

Council will be offering training to people working near the machines.

Tygar Taylor, QUT News