Defibrillators in retirement villages – what are your obligations?

Australia has an ageing demographic and there is an increasing trend towards more care service delivery in retirement villages. Some operators are already facing pressure from residents to install defibrillators in their villages and recent media attention in relation to this issue has raised questions about the obligations of operators to provide this equipment.

Legal obligations

Currently, there is no legal obligation for retirement village operators to install a defibrillator in a village. 

Likewise, operators are not obliged to adopt a recommendation of a residents’ committee to provide a defibrillator. However, in some states (NSW and ACT) an operator must propose a variation to the services provided, such as providing and maintaining a defibrillator in a village if requested by the residents’ committee. Any variation to the services must be approved by special resolution of the residents. 

In South Australia and Western Australia, operators must adopt procedures to undertake reasonable consultation with a residents’ committee in relation to any change to a service. 

At a minimum, operators should consider any request from a residents’ committee in relation to the provision of an additional service such as installing and maintaining a defibrillator at the village.  

Installation and subsequent obligations

If an operator installs a defibrillator in their village there are a number matters to consider including:

• the appropriate location and number of defibrillators to be installed bearing in mind the village size;
• additional training and policies for staff and the associated costs; and
• additional equipment maintenance costs and insurance costs.

An operator may also need to consider whether it is appropriate to provide training sessions for residents and the implications of doing so.

Residents should also be provided with information about the risks and effectiveness of defibrillators, including defibrillators may not increase survival rates in all circumstances. It is important that the operator does not misrepresent the accessibility and effectiveness of defibrillators.

Operators should consider whether to obtain consent from residents to use or not use the defibrillator. The operator may be liable if a defibrillator is used against a resident’s express wishes.

In summary, the provision of defibrillators is not without risks and operators need to develop appropriate policies and procedures supporting the installation, maintenance and use of defibrillators to mitigate these risks. 

 

This article was written by the team at Russell Kennedy Lawyers, the Retirement Living Council’s legal partner.