An overwhelming number of Queenslanders want lifesaving defibrillators to be mandatory in workplaces, new data shows.
A Galaxy Research survey of 1000 people found 81 per cent wanted the equipment installed at businesses across the state, while only 24 per cent already had one on site.
St John Ambulance Queensland on Wednesday announced it would work with companies, particularly those in the construction sector, to encourage more to install automatic external defibrillators.
Chief executive Alex Hutton said it was a vital piece of emergency equipment and the "only definitive first aid treatment" for cardiac arrest.
"Safe and healthy workplaces can also boost staff morale, lower levels of absenteeism, reduce job stress and encourage higher organisational commitment," he said in a statement.
Heart Foundation health director Rachelle Foreman said without defibrillation and CPR the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest reduced by 10 per cent every minute.
"After 10 minutes without it there is little chance of survival," she said in a statement.
"But a recent Heart Foundation survey found that although 70 per cent of adult Australians would be willing to use a defibrillator to help someone in an emergency, only one in three said they would feel confident in doing so."
Australian Institute of Building president Professor Paul Heather said National Safe Work Month, held every October, was the perfect time for the building and construction industry to put the welfare of its employees first.
"If the deployment of AEDs to all major construction projects were to save a single life it would be worth it," he said in a statement.
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