Hamilton: One person in each home should learn CPR

The need for at least one person in every household to have some knowledge of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is of paramount importance.{{more}}

So says longstanding member of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross Society Decima Hamilton.

Hamilton, one of the Society’s First Aid and CPR instructors, speaking in the wake of Monday’s drowning death at Rawacou, said that most persons do not see the need for these skills unless an emergency hits close to home.

“You cannot predict an emergency. First Aid and CPR should be a personal desire that every adult should strive for because we know emergencies don’t tell you when they are coming.”

CPR involves the physical intervention to create artificial circulation through rhythmic pressing on the chest of the patient to manually pump blood through the heart, and usually also involves ventilating the lungs to pass oxygen into the blood in a process called Artificial Respiration.

Hamilton said in many tragedies similar to Monday’s, had persons been not only aware of the proper procedure, but also confident enough, lives may have been saved.

She said that some people are afraid to respond to emergencies because they do not want to be held responsible if something goes wrong.

“One of the first things we teach when training in First Aid and CPR is that you have to be confident.”

The principal of the Dr J P Eustace Memorial Secondary School indicated that First Aid and CPR training is available at the Red Cross Society for individuals, groups and business places that are interested in learning the skills.

Interested persons and groups can contact the local Red Cross Society and arrange for these courses, which Hamilton said, will be facilitated by competent instructors with the use of modern training aids.

She said, however, persons shy away from the training because of the cost, which in her opinion cannot be compared to life saving techniques which will last a lifetime.

“These are skills are particularly easy to learn,” Hamilton indicated. “It is a skill that at least one person per household should have, and teach to other members of their family.”

Hamilton, however, noted that when a person becomes a volunteer and member of the society, the CPR and First Aid training is free of cost.

Recently, the local Red Cross Society made an appeal for more persons to become Red Cross volunteers in the wake of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti.