New app will call on trained Victorians to perform first aid before paramedics arrive

Twenty-five thousands Victorians have been trained in how to perform potentially life-saving skills, for when paramedics can’t make it in time.

With a new app, Ambulance Victoria will soon be able to call on first-aid trained citizens to help respond to medical emergencies.

When a triple zero call for a heart attack is made, community members with resuscitation qualifications will also be alerted through their phone.

They’ll be given the patient’s location, and sent to provide CPR before paramedics arrive.

Hero HQ was founded by paramedic Nikki Jurcutz who had seen first-hand the difference first responders could make after a cardiac arrest.

Similar programs are already in operation overseas.

Ambulance Victoria’s Ian Patrick said the earlier first aid could be administered after a heart attack, the greater the chance of survival.

“We want to actually strengthen the chain of survival by having early CPR and early defibrillation because we know that makes a huge difference.

The ambulance union Ambulance Employees Australia has cautiously welcomed the initiative, but stressed safety for inexperienced first responders must be paramount.