Andrew Sittaramaya was a dedicated St John Ambulance member who was walking his dog when he passed away from a cardiac arrest in 2022.

Mr Sittamaraya was the St John Ambulance NSW General Manager for Events and Community Health Services.

As a legacy to his memory, Mr Sitaramayya's widow, Maria, and her family raised $24000 to install defibrillators in 12 schools across New South Wales.

Cobar Public School was one of the places to receive this generous gift.

Assistant Principal of Cobar Public School, Ros Fraser said the school was honoured to be one of the schools to receive a defibrillator which was presented to the staff and student cohort last week.

Staff and some students also received training on how to use the machine.

"Thank you to St John Ambulance trainer, Angus Dalton for his excellent demonstration and to St John Ambulance and Mrs Sitaramayya for their kind and generous donation," Ms Fraser said.

A defibrillator (known as an automated external defibrillator or AED) is a small, portable device designed to deliver a controlled electrical shock to a person experiencing certain cardiac rhythms. Defibrillators must be used in conjunction with CPR.

Over 8,500 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in NSW every year. Only 12 per cent will survive.

For every minute that passes after a person has a cardiac arrest, the chance of survival decreases. Quick action could save a life.

According to Heart Research Australia, CPR performed by a bystander immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a patient’s chance of survival. Using a defibrillator within the first minute of sudden cardiac arrest, can potentially bring the chance of survival rate up to 90 per cent.

According to St John, it's important to remember:

• Anyone can use a defibrillator – they have verbal and visual instructions to guide you.
• You cannot hurt someone by using a defibrillator.
• A defibrillator only shocks a person who is in cardiac arrest.

Earlier this year, the NSW Government completed a full roll out of AED's on 143 TrainLink statewide routes, including those in the Western Plains.

The increasing prevalence of AED's in public places like schools, trains, hotels, town halls and shopping centres is a positive step toward increasing the survivability from a cardiac arrest and that is good news for everyone.

A simple first aid course can help individuals learn procedures that can save a life. Why not book one today?