Macleay Island Local Ambulance Service 25th Birthday Celebration

The committee for the MI Local Ambulance service met recently for their AGM and to celebrate 25 years of service. I went along to take a few quick photos for the magazine and ended staying for the whole event. I learnt about great new programs presently being offered.

What I found out may save mine, yours or someone else's life. So let's support our local ambulance service and learn through these programs. Information booklets are also available.

First of all, I found the committee to be a friendly bunch and Cheyne Collingwood, the secretary, filled me in with lots of information. I took a couple of pics and came back later for the CPR Session not to mention, Birthday Cake. Way to go!

I found out that the new CPR Awareness sessions are only a $2 donation. You get to practice on a dummy with an expert showing you how to do it right. There is also a new Snakes Alive program and DVD to show us what we can do in the case of a snake bite. We do have Red Belly Blacks and Eastern Browns on Macleay Island so this is not a bad idea.

Before the CPR Awareness Session I found out that one thing we can all do to help ourselves is to make sure we have clearly visible house numbers on our residencies. This can make it easier for the ambulance driver to find you. Although they now use GPS maps they still need to be able see the number of your house. So go check and make sure.

Next, we have one paramedic on the island, Kath Wilson, who is well trained, experienced and friendly. The committee of volunteers all work hard to provide support and you can help too by supporting their fundraising efforts at the MI Lyons Club Market days and sausage sizzles or joining the association.

How long has it been since you did some CPR awareness training? These sessions are invaluable. They will take away much of the fear of an emergency situation as you will know what the steps are that you need to take.

There is also a great APP you can freely download on your mobile from the App store but you need to have GPS to do this. The App will provide you with your exact location e.g. the longitude and latitude co-ordinates and that can save time. The App is called Emergency + and it provides you with all the non-urgent phone numbers you require. If you are trying to way up a situation you can also call Health Direct on 1800022222. However, if it is anemergency, don't hesitate!

Call 000

If you would like to find out more about the Macleay Island Local Ambulance Service Organisation or to find out about programs call Cheyne on 34095262 or Anne on 0418752597.

• Cheryl Arnott, Kath Wilson and Barbara Sharrock engaged in learning the vital CPR techniques

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