"They saved my life. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them."
This is the view of Mick Hill, a cardiac arrest survivor who received lifesaving assistance thanks to the SA Ambulance Service’s GoodSAM program.
And now this program is celebrating a significant milestone, with GoodSAM responders attending more than 2000 suspected cardiac arrests across South Australia since its launch in December 2022.
The milestone reflects thousands of occasions where trained volunteers have been able to provide potentially lifesaving assistance in the critical moments before ambulance crews arrive.
The GoodSAM app alerts registered volunteers when a suspected cardiac arrest is reported to Triple Zero (000). Responders can choose whether to accept the alert and begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while an ambulance is dispatched simultaneously.
Among those helping reach the milestone was off-duty SAAS paramedic Nicole Bell, who responded to a cardiac arrest involving Mick last December when an alert was received just streets away from her home.
Nicole and her husband Tim, a CFS volunteer and fellow GoodSAM responder, performed CPR and applied their own defibrillator before ambulance crews arrived.
"I was staying with some friends, and I was so lucky that just eight houses down, there were some people there that had the app and were able to respond when I needed them," Mick says.
"They saved my life. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.
"I got the opportunity to meet them not that long ago and I gave them a big hug – which I knew they were grateful for as they don’t always get to see the end result or even know if someone made it."
For Nicole, the most rewarding part of being a GoodSAM responder is using her skills to help people.
"The support GoodSAM responders provide extends beyond CPR, which is physically demanding in itself," she says.
"Once my on-duty colleagues arrived, I was able to assist them and also support Mick’s wife and friends, helping them understand what is happening during what is often an incredibly stressful situation."
SAAS Chief Executive Officer Rob Elliott said that cardiac arrests were the service’s highest-priority emergency callouts, and that GoodSAM responders, together with bystanders and SAAS clinicians, formed a "critical link in the chain of survival".
"When someone suffers a sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, time to CPR and, where available, defibrillation is paramount," Mr Elliott said. "Put simply, seconds count."
"Many GoodSAM responders are SAAS staff and volunteers, which speaks volumes about their commitment to serving the community, even when they are off duty.
"At the same time, GoodSAM is open to anyone trained in CPR who is willing to help when an alert is received."
Registered health practitioners, SAAS staff and volunteers, tertiary-level healthcare students and people trained in CPR or first aid are all eligible to register as GoodSAM responders.
For more information about GoodSAM and how to register, visit www.saambulance.sa.gov.au/goodsam
