Where anyone can learn first aid

A widely shared video of a doctor saving a man’s life at a furniture supermarket by using CPR has put the spotlight on emergency response training

The knowledge of first aid, especially the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) technique, can make a
significant difference in emergencies like cardiac arrests and accidents, say experts.

After a man collapsed at Bengaluru’s Ikea furniture store last week, a doctor, who was incidentally shopping there, revived his pulse after 10 minutes of CPR (which often combines chest compressions with artificial ventilation).

Lifesaving interventions by bystanders are important to buy time before professional medical help arrives.

Dr Aruna C Ramesh, head of emergency medicine, Ramaiah Medical College, cites a recent case when a 35-year-old man collapsed at a gym in Sadashivanagar. The gym instructor started the CPR and continued it till he was rushed to their hospital. The patient was ‘dead on arrival’ but was saved eventually. “This would not have been possible if the gym instructor had not started timely bystander CPR and the hospital provided advanced cardiac care,” she points out.

Metrolife lists a few centres that offer basic lifesaving training.

Ramaiah Medical College

The institute conducts a foundational course for first responders, called Basic Life Support, in groups of 25, almost every month, and free of cost. It is held at the M S Ramaiah Memorial Hall in Mathikere.

“We mostly teach school teachers, civil defence and police personnel, and NCC volunteers at these sessions,” informs Dr Aruna.

In two and a half hours, the certification course covers what to do in cases of seizures, snake bites, dog bites, accidental poisoning, burns, asthma attack, high-grade fever, active loss of blood or emergencies like Return of spontaneous circulation (ROCS), and how to administer hands-only CPR. She doesn’t recommend mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing because of the risk of disease transmission.

She advises bystanders against offering water to unconscious victims as they may “choke on it” while trauma victims “may vomit”.

Call 080 4050 2252 or 080 4050 333

Nightingales Lifesaving Services

A not-for-profit for elderly care, Nightingales Medical Trust offers training in first aid, CPR, and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) each. However, a majority of individuals and companies sign up for all three in a session that can run for three-four hours, informs Ramani Sundaram, who heads the training department.

AED is a portable, battery-operated medical device used to revive a person from sudden cardiac arrests. Unknown to the public, AEDs are available at big malls, airports and IT companies, the team informs.

They can conduct training at their centre in Kasturi Nagar or on-site on a week’s notice. “We can train as few as one participant to a batch of 15. We impart theory with a PowerPoint presentation and demonstrations using mannequins, spine board, CPR masks, AEDs and hands-on techniques,” she adds. The participants are also given a CPR education material, developed in-house. “However, the certification expires in two years, so they need to retrain themselves,” she says.

In the last seven months, the Trust has seen an uptick in youngsters signing up to learn emergency caregiving. “There is a dearth of caregivers in the UK and these youngsters are going there to join nursing homes,” she observes. The per person cost for a group session is Rs 1,200, and Rs 3,000 individually.

Call 080 4242 6565 or look up nightingaleslifesaving.com

3S Life Safe Akademie

It has trained 15,000-plus people in eight years in Basic Life Support — First Aid. Mostly corporate and factory employees, sports aspirants, gym trainers, trek leaders, and mall staff seek the training, which is conducted at their Horamavu office or on-site for a fee of about Rs 700 per person.

Trainer Subhash Kumar says one must exercise the presence of mind and observe the symptoms. “CPR should be given when the person is breathing but the carotid pulse (on the neck) can’t be found in a state of unconsciousness. The ABC rule (a mnemonic for airway, breathing, and circulation) should be checked within 30 seconds.”

“Timely and correctly-administered CPR can increase the survival rate by 60-70% during cardiac arrests, and even further if a patient’s feet are elevated to increase the blood flow to the heart and to the brain,” he says.

During the course, he tries to dispel the myths popularised by movies. “If you rescue a person from drowning, compress his back to remove the water from the lungs and give mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing about 10-12 times. Holding metal objects between the teeth of a person in case of a seizure is not medically advised. In cases of nose bleeding, don’t tilt the head upward or lay the person in a sleeping position. Instead, put the chin down and pinch the nostrils and ask the person to breathe from the mouth.”

Call 79753 70191

VMEDO Academy

Akhilesh Deshpande, co-founder, VMEDO (Vital Medical Operations), says the sign-ups for CPR training and purchase of AEDs have gone up since actor Puneeth Rajkumar died of cardiac arrest in 2021.

The academy offers training online, at their classroom in JP Nagar (for a minimum of 20 participants), and on-site (such as corporate offices and factory floors). They have designed three courses, priced between Rs 600 to Rs 3,000, and conducted training for over 10,000 people.

Their ‘Basic first aid’ module covers information such as the Good Samaritan Law (see box) in three-four hours. The ‘Advanced first aid’ programme demonstrates CPR, response to emergencies like chemical burns, electrocution and drowning, and how to apply bandage and lift a person to safety, over seven hours. The ‘First responder programme’ spans two days and is usually taken up by people leading hikes and treks to prepare them for outdoor accidents.

Certificates are issued on passing a written test.

Look up academy.vmedo.com or call 63649 04226

Other options

Look up Indian Red Cross Society, Karnataka on redcrosskarnataka.org; Call Academy of Global Education at Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College, KG Halli on 99164 35352.

‘Law supports good samaritans’

Dr Aruna says Karnataka was perhaps the first state to implement the ‘Good Samaritan Law’ to encourage bystanders to help road accident victims without the fear of legal consequences or disclosure of personal details. The Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional (Protection and Regulation during Emergency Situations) Bill of 2016, became an act in 2018. As per the rule, hospitals and police stations should display the Good Samaritan Charter