Pharmacists Jamie Pisani and Lloyd Smith, new owners of Shoal Bay Pharmacy, say the incidents had highlighted the need for an easily accessible defib along the busy Shoal Bay waterfront, used daily by thousands of locals and tourists.

The business owners say they are now negotiating the purchase of a HeartSine 500P defibrillator, which is distributed through former ironman champion Guy Leech, to be installed in a safety box on their Shoal Bay Road shopfront.

"This is my choice for a community, it has real time CPR coaching, and verbal instruction per CPR compression on whether the responser is pushing quick enough, deep enough or too quick."

Mr Pisani said that in a case of emergency outside of business hours, most people would first approach a pharmacy [or chemist].

He said that the three incidents in less than14 days had rattled the staff and wider Shoal Bay business community.

"On all three occasions we were contacted as first responders to help someone in an emergency situation," Mr Pisani said.

"The first involved an elderly gentleman who had walked into our pharmacy claiming of severe abdominal pain. He had very low blood pressure and had to be placed in the recovery position before the paramedics arrived.

"The second incident was around 7.30pm when I received a call from a neighbouring business about a patron who had collapsed, complaining of chest pain. It was following this incident that our staff began discussing the matter of a publicly accessible defib."

He said that the third incident involved a stroke victim.

"We had a lady running into the shop from across the road seeking help for her husband."

According to the Heart Foundation, one person dies every 12 minutes from cardiovascular disease and cardiac arrest is one of Australia's biggest killers.

Mr Pisani said that in most cases a person having a cardiac arrest has about 10 minutes which could mean the difference between life and death.

"On many weekends here in Shoal Bay there are thousands of people enjoying the beach and foreshore so it makes sense to have an easy to use defib handy in case of an emergency."

A spokesperson for Port Stephens Council said that the pharmacy would be able to place a defibrillator in front of the building (with the relevant approvals).

"Council would be more than happy to assist with any relevant approvals. In regards to financial support, there are a number of options."

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