If a person's heart suddenly stops about 7pm on a Tuesday at home, how likely is it that they will have access to life-saving first aid within five minutes?
Adrian Watts believes it's quite unlikely in Canberra.
The chief executive of St John Ambulance ACT said defibrillators were rarely mounted in public areas or available to people after shops and businesses closed.
"I am not aware of any [defibrillators] publicly available on outside walls," Mr Watts said.
About 26,000 Australians experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospitals every year, research from Monash University revealed in April.
"Most cardiac arrests happen close to home, that's where we spend most hours," Mr Watts said.
"If defibrillators are available [outside] the local shops within two minutes of homes, this should see dramatic increase in survival rates that in the ACT."
Historically, those who experience a cardiac arrest have about a 10 per cent chance of survival.
This is unless people around them can access automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) within the first three to five minutes of the arrest occurring.
National data shows this can drastically increase their chanced of survival and recovery.
"In 2022-23, the average ambulance response time to a priority 1 incident, such as a cardiac arrest, was 16.8 minutes. Survival rates decrease by 10 per cent each minute that a defib is not available," Mr Watts said.
For this reason, St John Ambulance ACT has launched the first Defib In Your Community campaign.
They want to increase the number of AEDs available outside local shops which tend to be close to homes and situated in high-traffic areas.
Businesses like Little Oink cafe, the Cook Grocer and To All My Friends are supporting the organisation by setting up collection points to encourage the community members to donate and fund a defibrillator on an outside wall at the Cook shops.
"We love being a part of this community and want to make sure that everyone has equal access to a defib that could save the life of a family member, friend or neighbour," cafe and bar owner Shane Taylor said.
They're aiming to raise $8000 to install and maintain publicly available defibrillators.
"The goal of the campaign is to have an AED installed at all local shops in the ACT to help save lives," Mr Watts said. "I hope to have up to a 100 across Canberra. Perhaps the government can find ways to help the program work better."
He said the device was easy to use and could save many lives before paramedics are able to reach them.
"Once you activate the AED, it talks you through everything you need to know: how to use the machine, how to attach it to the patient, and each step of defibrillation and delivering CPR," Mr Watts said.
"Every workplace, every sporting club and every public place should have a defibrillator nearby.
"And it should be registered so that Triple Zero operators can help the public locate it in an emergency."
