Surf club, North Narrabeen: Boardriders Club behind installation of defibrillator

An automated external defibrillator (AED) has now been installed outside the surf club and it can be used in an emergency 24 hours a day.

While all 21 northern beaches surf clubs already have an AED inside the building, when club is not open the life-saving technology is not accessible to the public. North Narrabeen is now one of just five of local clubs to have an AED outside 24 hours a day, the others are Freshwater, Mona Vale, Bilgola and Avalon.

READ ALSO: Poisoned, vandalised and attacked all for better views

North Narrabeen Boardriders Club was behind the push to have the AED installed outside their local surf club, following the deaths of two of its own.

In the past, 21-year-old Alexis Dunne died of a heart attack on the beach following a surf at North Narrabeen. In March 2020, Kevin Short got into his car to go for surf at the beach when he suffered a heart attack and died.

On January 25 this year a 30-year-old man was pulled unconscious from North Narrabeen Beach and despite CPR efforts also died at the beach.

NNBC president and former pro Australian surfer, Damien Hardman, said the heartbreak of losing two members prompted the club to act.

"We lost a few people here over the last few years including two of our club members, both through heart issues," he said. "We figured it was a good thing for the community, not just surfers but anyone using the beach.

"I think it's something every surf club should have, that's on outside of the building and that's accessible."

READ ALSO: Northern beaches fugitive captured at state border

NNBC vice president Brian Lawson, who also works as a paramedic, said AEDs are easy to use.

"They're very simple, it's as simple as opening up the box and it talks you through the whole process," he said. "You can't get it wrong because it won't shock a non-shockable rhythm. Early defibrillation is what saves lives."

NNBC received a grant of $1100 from the NSW Office of Sport and then club members paid for the additional $1000 to purchase the AED.

Surf Life Saving Services chief operating officer Dan Gaffney, said using an AED within the first three minutes of a cardiac arrest has shown to improve lifesaving outcomes of patients from 10 per cent up to 70 per cent.

"The AED is used to deliver an electrical shock to the patient's heart in an attempt to 'restart' normal, spontaneous electrical activity within the heart," he said.

"There is no training, certification or qualifications required to use an AED - they are able to be used for the first time by anyone in an emergency situation. If you need to use it, do not be afraid to have a go at using it to save someone's life. They are simple to use, safe, and quite literally could mean the difference between life and death."

Northern Beaches Council mayor Michael Regan said while this was a NNBC initiative, council puts aside $1 million in its budget every year to help surf clubs.

He said council had helped to get AEDs into sporting fields across the LGA, and surf clubs should be part of that rollout.

"We've got a role to play going forward in terms of this," Cr Regan said. "We need to do more with it, we need to play more of an active role.

"The community should feel safe and feel comfortable that they could come and approach us for these types of grants."

READ ALSO: Get breaking news from the northern beaches as it happens

Cr Regan said while there are many AEDs across the northern beaches, nobody has collated the locations into an easy-to-access resource.

"There's no map, you wouldn't know if there's one on The Corso, where's the app? Where is something that we all know and can go to," he said.

"I think we should be doing it, an app or contributing to one that already exists."

Have something to say? Send a letter to the editor at: editor@northernbeachesreview.com.au

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: