Club donates to ambulance

Ettalong Beach Club has donated $3400 to the Peninsula Division of St John Ambulance for a defibrillator.
A defibrillator is used to give an electric shock to the heart to restore its normal rhythm. It is commonly used after a heart attack.
Officer in Command of the Peninsula division, Mr Colin Henson, said: "Members of the division were very grateful to the club for purchasing this vital and important piece of equipment.
"It will be particularly useful at events where a large number of people, especially elderly people, are gathered.
"The Anzac Day dawn service comes immediately to mind," he said.
Mr Henson said that defibrillation was necessary when the electrical impulses of the heart become chaotic.
"Ventricular fibrillation is then said to be present and may cause a heart attack."
Early use of a defibrillator can increase the rate of heart attack survival from eight per cent to 40 per cent.
It is most effective when carried out within three minutes of a heart attack.
"This means we have to have a unit on hand at the scene," he said.
"While the NSW Ambulance Service is the best ambulance service in the world, they still cannot get to most heart attack victims within three minutes."
Mr Henson said that while resuscitation techniques could lengthen the effective time, it was "still vital to get a defibrillator as soon as possible to a casualty who is not breathing and has no pulse".
He said that if a decision is made to deliver a shock, bystanders are asked to turn off any mobile phones and to stand clear and the "shock button" is pressed.
"It is important that bystanders keep well clear as high electrical current is used.
"Mobile phones can cause the defibrillator to discharge prematurely," he said.
The Peninsula Division meets at 7pm every Wednesday at its Melbourne Avenue base in Umina.
For further information, call 4342 0444.