Highway Patrol, Strategic Traffic Unit and Commercial Vehicle Safety Team vehicles now have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to help save lives.

Police has rolled out AEDs in 368 vehicles across the country as part of its commitment to safe homes, safe roads, and safe communities.

“We are often the first on the scene at crashes or medical events,” Director National Road Policing Centre Superintendent Steve Greally says.

“Having an AED in vehicles means we can provide support to someone suffering from heart failure until the medical emergency team arrives.”

An AED is a lightweight, portable device that delivers an electric shock through the chest to the heart.

The shock can potentially stop an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) and allow a normal rhythm to resume following sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

According to St John, SCA is one of the leading causes of death in New Zealand.

“Someone living in an urban area might expect a rapid response from a mobile medical service, like St John, but this isn’t the case in the more rural parts of New Zealand,” Steve says. (continue reading below)

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An AED can increase someone’s survival chances by up to 44%.

Without an AED the chance of survival decreases by 10% for each minute that passes without defibrillation.

Southern District Acting Road Policing Manager Ian Temple says “One of our fundamental roles is to preserve life”.

“Having these defibrillators in many of our patrol vehicles in rural and provincial areas means we’re now better placed to help people in need.” 

Southern District has been allocated 23 AEDs.

Police are out in the community and often the first on hand in times of crisis.

These AEDs are a critical tool to enable officers to respond effectively when crucial minutes can determine the outcome.” 

When it comes to cardiac arrests, a few minutes can make all the difference as to whether someone comes home from hospital or not.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Team (CVST) National Manager Mike Brooklands says, “Having the AED in the CVST vehicles ensures an ever-wider coverage across the network especially in the remote rural areas.

“We can support families in critical times of need by decreasing the response time of other emergency services and potentially save a life.”

The four CVSTs have been allocated 70 AEDs.

The total number of AEDs have been split across the country, with 52 allocated to national road safety vehicles (Highway Patrol and Mobile Road Safety Bases).

The 368 AEDs rolled out to districts are additional to existing district AEDs.