SuniTAFE CEO Brett Millington knows all too well the importance of having an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) available in a time of crisis. Ten years ago, at only 38, Brett had a sudden cardiac arrest.

“At the time I was the fittest I had been in a decade,” he said.

“I was completing a 10-week fitness challenge, had lost 10kgs and was finishing a 4km run when my heart just stopped.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but I have a genetic condition which meant the fitter I got, the thicker my heart wall got.”

After suffering experiencing the sudden cardiac arrest, Brett was found in the middle of the road by two strangers, shortly thereafter.“They performed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for 26 minutes and were able to keep me alive.

Once the ambulance arrived, they were able to use their on-board device and it was three days later that I woke up in the ICU,” Brett said.

“I am one of the lucky ones with statistics showing that only one out of 10 people who have a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive but the quicker that people can access an AED, the better the outcome.” SuniTAFE currently has six AED’s available, four at the Mildura campus, one at the SMART Farm and one in Swan Hill.

“Now I have my own internal defibrillator, but it means I’m really conscious of making sure that people know where AED’s are and that you shouldn’t be scared to use one. Any action is better than no action,” Brett said.

“You don’t need first aid training as the AED will talk you through what you need to do, and by using it, you may just save a life.

“If it wasn’t for the two strangers that stopped to help me, I wouldn’t be here today.” To ensure all SuniTAFE staff feel confident using an AED, training is planned to be provided during an All Staff Forum later this year.

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