St Mary’s Cricket Club Dandenong will be better prepared to manage a medical emergency on and off the park after receiving a defibrillator and training package from the Andrews Labor Government.

Member for Dandenong, Gabrielle Williams, today announced that St Mary’s Cricket Club Dandenong were one of 300 successful applicants across the state to receive the package from the latest round of the government’s Defibrillators for Sporting Clubs and Facilities Program.

The program has proven extremely popular across the state, with the original target of 1000 packages over-subscribed.

In response the Andrews Government has extend the program and will now deliver more than 1300 packages.

In a life threatening sudden cardiac arrest every second counts, and bystanders play a vital role because the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest decreases by 10 per cent every minute that passes without defibrillation.

The Defibrillators for Sporting Clubs and Facilities Program ensures clubs and sports venues like St Mary’s Cricket Club Dandenong are on top of their game when it comes to helping players and spectators when they need it most.

Clubs get to boost their first aid skills, improve planning for medical emergencies and ensure players and spectators suffering sudden cardiac arrest quickly get help until paramedics arrive.

Training on how to use the devices is provided by program partner St John Ambulance and as many as 20,000 Victorians will receive training in the use of a defibrillator and basic CPR.

The new devices also appear on Ambulance Victoria’s database, so that triple zero operators can direct callers to the nearest devices available when emergency strikes.