Good Samaritan MP’s brushes with death
3 November 2023 Find out more about the GoodSAM app
From nearly losing his own life, to saving someone else’s, it was a big week for Paul Edbrooke.
The Frankston MP had barely recovered from a light plane crash when he responded to a health emergency near his electorate office.
Mr Edbrooke was alerted by the GoodSAM (Smartphone Activated Medic) app to a man in his 60s who wasn’t breathing and didn’t have a pulse.
‘I took over the scene and recommenced CPR, only probably a minute later this gentleman was looking at me breathing. It was quite astounding,’ he said.
The life-saving app calls users to cardiac arrest patients while paramedics are on the way.
‘Essentially, it will give the people that are signed up to the app an alert if there is a 000 call nearby for a cardiac patient with no pulse, who's not breathing.’
The app isn’t just for emergency service or health workers. People who’ve done a first aid course and know CPR can also use it.
‘In Australia it's saving more lives than ever because ordinary people, ordinary Victorians and Australians are signing up,’ he said.
It isn’t the first time Mr Edbrooke’s responded to a GoodSAM alert. In 2022 he resuscitated a child.
‘Seeing someone who is on the ground who isn't breathing and without a pulse can be tremendously confronting, but it can be amazingly rewarding to see that person looking at you, breathing and knowing that you've actually saved that person's life,’ he said.
Just five days earlier, the avid skydiver miraculously survived an aircraft accident near Geelong.
‘We got in the aircraft, everything seemed safe and fine. Did all the safety checks and took off,’ Mr Edbrooke said.
‘Got up to about 600 feet in altitude and the engine cut out.
‘There were 17 people on board, including the pilot and the pilot just did an amazing job, everyone survived with basically minor injuries.
‘Even in my former profession as a firefighter, I don't think I've seen or heard of that so I'm pretty happy to be here.’