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Heartline Magazine April - June 2004
Port Workers get CPR Training
Over 100 members of staff of the Bridgetown Port are to be
trained in CPR, as part of a developmental programme to enhance the capability
of the Port to respond to emergency situations.
The training is being held at the headquarters of the Heart
Foundation of Barbados (HFOB) over the months of May through September, weekly
on Thursdays and Fridays, and is being conducted by HFOB instructors, headed by
Dr. Brian Charles, director of the Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) Programme of the
Heart Foundation of Barbados. Dr. Charles is also head of the Accident and
Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The special course of CPR training in First Aid and Basic
Cardiac Life Support has been designed over the past years by the Heart
Foundation of Barbados for use by laypersons, and also gives instruction in
Defibrillation at the worksite. Defibrillation is a process whereby an
electrical current is used to restart the normal electrical rhythm of the heart
using a simple device called an Automated External defibrillator (AED).
Several persons die annually from sudden cardiac arrest,
mostly as a result of underlying heart disease, the inability to resuscitate
these persons within a very short time, and the absence of ready access to
defibrillation. The Bridgetown Port is a location through which several persons
pass on a daily basis, and there is therefore an increased likelihood of a
witnessed cardiac arrest event. It is therefore felt that the training of
personnel there is both timely and useful.
All instructors of the Heart Foundation of Barbados are
American Heart Association trained and certified, and Staff members of the
Bridgetown Port who successfully complete the course will receive
internationally recognised certification from the American Heart Association.
The Heart Foundation of Barbados will also provide public
access defibrillation at the Bridgetown Port by the donation of an Automatic
External Defibrillator (AED) for permanent placement and use at the Port, with
continuing supervision on the use and maintenance of the equipment.
In addition the HFOB will provide post programme physician
oversight of ECC services at the Port, and will seek to assist in integrating
the Bridgetown Port's emergency services into the national emergency system.
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