Mumbai: The Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital in Mumbai organized a community connect program with five co-operative societies in its vicinity. The program was organized on the occasion of the 70th Republic Day, aiming to provide BLS (Basic Life Support) training, identifying the early symptoms of Stroke (paralysis) and awareness on organ donation. There were over 150 people attending this program. The BLS training involves learning CPR and basic first aid in cases of emergency.
CPR training facilities are limited in India as there is no defined CPR practice guideline that has been drafted in the Indian sub-continent. The hospital recognized the need for adequate training for CPR in case of emergency.
According to experts, such training can be very helpful in a situation where the medical help is taking time to arrive and immediate attention is required. One challenge with saving people who have stopped breathing and do not have a pulse is that there is often a lag before bystanders take action. People could have been saved within time if there was a trained person at the event of an emergency.
Dr. Abdul Samad Ansari, Director – Critical Care Services, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital, “BLS is the single most important survival skill for mankind and learning basic life support should be mandatory in high school and regular practice at graduation and post graduate level would ensure a high quality bystander CPR till medical help arrives.”
With people attending in good numbers and their interest in learning more about basic first aid, the hospital aims to continue giving back to society through the community connect program.
