The City of Delta has issued a request for bids for the supply of 20 additional automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
The LIFEPAK CR2 Defibrillator units and accessories are to enable bystanders to help save lives when someone is experiencing cardiac arrest.
In 2023, the city, in a partnership with St. John Ambulance, installed publicly accessible AED stands at four city parks. Costing about $32,000 combined, the stands included an AED unit and a first aid kit for bystanders.
“Considering most cardiac arrests happen away from hospitals, these stands provide essential tools to the public in the event someone experiences a major medical emergency,” the city explained in a news release at the time.
Representatives from St. John Ambulance the previous year made a presentation to council during a province-wide Start Me Up campaign. The goal of the campaign was to partner with cities throughout the province to place 1,000 publicly accessible AEDs across B.C. Public spaces targeted for AEDs include transit corridors, SkyTrain stations, bus loops and high traffic areas like shopping malls, parks and other key locations.
Ken Leggatt, Chief Operating Office for St. John Ambulance, told council that, unlike heart attacks, sudden cardiac arrests can happen at any time, and can lead to unconsciousness and can be fatal if not treated immediately with CPR and an AED.
The City of Delta already had AED units in each of its major recreation facilities, while publicly accessible units were also at the Tsawwassen Arts Centre, North Delta Centre for the Arts, Ladner Community Centre, Pinewood Leisure Centre and at the Harris Barn and Kirkland House.
The city, though, did not have AEDs installed in outdoor facilities such as park fieldhouses.
Earlier this month, BC United MLA Shirley Bond, Shadow Minister for Health, re-introduced her proposed Defibrillator Public Access Act, which would require every public building in B.C. to have an AED that is visible, registered and maintained.
Additionally, AEDs would be registered with BC Emergency Health Services and integrated into the ambulance dispatch system, allowing dispatchers to swiftly guide callers to the nearest AED.
