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Hi,

The information that I am going to share with you may save your life and the lives of the people you love.

If you don’t think the swine flu situation is a big deal, think again.

Having been a paramedic for over 6 years and being exposed to SARS in 2002 – 2003 has made me see first hand how people die and lives and businesses are affected overnight. And the reason why so many people died in SARS is simply because those people did not prepare for it even when it was evidently deadly.

When there is a pandemic, just imagine

• your staff has fever and comes to office – and you don’t know about it
• a visitor sneezes or coughs out
• your visitors and staff bring in the killer virus on them and enters the office

1. Get personal protective equipment especially a face mask, like the N95 mask.
2. Check the temperature of everyone who enters the office.
3. Make sure everyone sanitizes their hands before coming into the office
4. Check your visitors when they come into your premises.

• N95 MASK which will help minimise and filter particulates and organisms that are transmitted by air and saliva.
• Surgical Mask which will also help minimise and filter particulates and organisms that are transmitted by air and saliva to a lesser extent – more for when working within an office environment without outside contact.
• Gloves during contact or screening of a visitor
• Gown if someone have to do contact screening, let that person have a full long sleeve disposable gown donned.

• Digital thermometer for personal monitoring of temperature – those with fever should not come to work!
• Forehead or ear scan thermometer for screening at the door of the office or premises – those with fever should not be allowed in the premises

• To be used before entering office, before eating, before touching your face
• You can also consider getting a waterless personal hand sanitiser to bring along with you everywhere you go

• A screening form to ensure that they haven’t been to high infected areas
• Temperature screening
• Give your visitors face mask when they enter your office

• How do your staff react in a pandemic
• What they should know
• What they should do
• How to disinfect and clean
• How to handle visitors
• Procedures on screening
• How to identify high risk or infected persons
• What to do with these people
• When to contact MOH

p.s. By the way, if you need the pricing of the items I mentioned let me know. We are still able to provide them at the regular market price, but pricing is going up as the demand is growing and stock is depleting so quickly.

p.s.s. Today we just got potential orders for a few hundreds face mask and its only 12pm. Stock is quickly running out worldwide. So the quicker you order the better.

The video here shows you how to help a child who is choking using the abdominal thrust method. This is the recommended method by the National Resuscitation Council.

You need to first ensure that a child is choking. A person who is choking has complete blockage of the airway and will not be able to speak, breathe or cough. Frequently, they will be grasping their throat – what is commonly known as the Universal Sign of Choking. When you see these signs, you must immediately perform amdomonal thrusts as shown in the video.

Continue to the abdominal thrusts until the object is dislodge or the child turns unconscious (which you will need to proceed with CPR, with the exception of a mouth check before giving breaths).

Even if the object is dislodge it is still recommended for the child to bring the child to the emergency room for further assessment.

We hope that this video has helped you understand the steps of choking better. To get frequent updates and tutorials on first aid and CPR, fill in the form below:

I refer to the article “Her quick actions save child from choking to death” published on the 3rd of April 2009 in the New Paper.

I would like to commend Madam Ng for her quick thinking and prompt action which had saved Robyjnn from being a victim of choking.

Things like these happen when they are least expected and if you just stall for a minute trying to figure out what to, it could potentially cause someone their life. What’s worse is that when it happens to someone near and dear, it could be even harder to react rationally. Yet, many of us take this for granted.

We are so caught up in our busy lives and what’s going on in the world that we rarely stop to think, what if someone at home swallows on a sweet or a piece of meat and chokes? Do I know what to do?

The real question is do we really want to wait till it happens to find out.

Nobody wants to stand around watching your loved one die before your eyes. That is why it is imperative that everyone should develop first aid skills. At least for the sake of the people you love.

For the benefit of ST readers, we have created a simple instructional video on How To Help A Choking Child. It can be viewed on our blog at www.firstaidtraining.com.sg/choking

What Madam Ng did was one of the methods using back blows. The video that we created shows the recommended method by the National Resuscitation Council and the American Heart Association, which is by performing abdominal thrusts with a clenched fist just above the navel.

Although both methods will help, some reports favour the abdominal thrust method because it is found to produce a greater pressure than back blows and tend to be more effective in dislodging the foreign body. Many of our participants have shared with us how they managed to help someone who was choking using the abdominal thrust method.

We urge everyone to learn at least the basic skills of first aid and CPR. You never know when you need to use them, or who will need them. And when that time comes and passes, can you live knowing whether you did or did not help?

Share your real first aid story and make a difference.

Have you ever had a real first aid encounter?

You may have a real life first aid experience. Sharing your experience with others can help them understand what it would really be like to be in a first aid situation.

And its even better when you’ll be rewarded for your story!

We’re looking for the BEST first aid / CPR / emergency experience! Send your real life story to us today and stand a chance to win fantastic prizes and enter our super main draw.

Go to http://www.firstaidtraining.com.sg/story now to submit REAL FIRST AID STORY now.

Or send us your story via email to sfatc@firstaidtraining.com.sg.

Thank you and we’re looking forward to reading your story!

Closing date : 12th May 2009

Extracted from the NewPaper >>

SHE was not allowed to eat in class so three-year-old Robyjnn Lui swallowed the sweet.

But it got stuck in the girl’s throat, causing her to choke.

By the time her Mandarin teacher realised what was happening, Robyjnn’s lips and face had turned blue.

She tried to get Robyjnn to vomit into a waste basket while patting her back, but to no avail.

With five other children in the class to handle, the teacher called out to the branch manager, Madam Ng Siew Yann, who was in a storeroom 3m away.

The quick-thinking Madam Ng grabbed Robyjnn and lifted her with the girl’s stomach over her left forearm, and patted her several times.

When it did not work, Madam Ng, 33, said she gave a couple of hard thumps on her back until she managed to clear the blockage.

Madam Ng said: ‘It was frightening to see her face blue, and that her eyes had turned red and wet. I could also hear she had difficulty breathing.

‘Luckily, she pointed to her throat to indicate that something was stuck inside. My focus was just to get her to throw up.’

The incident happened at about 4pm two weeks ago at the Thomson branch of Berries World of Learning School where Robyjnn attends a weekly Mandarin enrichment class.

After clearing Robyjnn’s airway, Madam Ng said she hugged the student and told her everything was fine.

‘I asked her if she was okay. She smiled at me and nodded her head,’ said Madam Ng.

Just then, the girl threw up on her and vomited two more times. By then, several teachers were on hand to help.

They cleaned up the girl and changed her clothes.

The incident didn’t appear to affect Robyjnn.

‘She looked fine after that. She was even jumping about like nothing had happened,’ Madam Ng added.

She called Robyjnn’s mother immediately after the incident to inform her.

And as it turns out, her mother, Madam Chan Yee Yin, 39, had given her a sweet to pacify her before class as she was grouchy.

Grateful parents

She and her husband were so grateful that they went to the school later that day with chocolates and biscuits to thank Madam Ng.

They also wrote a commendation letter to Madam Ng’s employer, and alerted The New Paper to her good deed.

Clearly unaffected by the incident and unfazed by the attention, Robyjnn said: ‘I was trying to swallow the sweet but it got stuck.’

Said Madam Chan, a corporate communications director: ‘In this day and age, there are still good people out there who take so much pride in their work and expect nothing in return.’

Madam Wynne Li, the founder and managing director of the school, said she appreciated the commendation from Robyjnn’s parents, and that Madam Ng’s actions have earned her bonus points as part of her appraisal.

Madam Li said: ‘It’s all about crisis management, and she did it well. She was cool headed enough to deal with the situation. It’s all because of her love for the children and for her job.’

As part of their training, new employees are put through a five-day course, where they are also taught how to administer first-aid, and how to deal with emergencies such as cuts, bleeding, choking and asthma attacks.

Madam Ng, a mother of three young children, played down her actions.

She said: ‘It’s part of our job. Anyone faced with the same situation would have done the same.’

Do you have any questions regarding the latest CPR+AED guidelines?
Are there any CPR or AED related issues that you need to address?
Is there more information or clarification you need?

This is where you can post your questions and where we will post our responses to you related to the recent CPR+AED guidelines for layperson rescuers. You can also post training questions here.

Thank you!

Finally, the changes have been finalised! The latest CPR + AED guidelines have been released by the National Resuscitation Council, Singapore recently to our centre. The latest guidelines make peforming CPR and using the AED easier than ever before.

Below is a short extract taken from the full CPR+AED video:

Gain instant access and download to the FULL VIDEO now.

Simply fill up the form below:

The first PUBLIC ACCESS DEFIBRILLATOR in Singapore’s HDB Estate was launched on the 15th March 2009 at Kim Keat Ave. The very first AED was mounted in a white wall cabinet outside the Adventist Home for the Elderly to allow both residents of the home as well as members of the public to be able to access to the AED.

Security will not be an issue as several measures has been taken. For instance, the wall cabinet can only be opened by breaking a small glass to gain access to the key, which then can open the cabinet. There is also a loud alarm which will sound when the cabinet is opened, alerting the residents and staff of the Adventist Home for the Elderly (AHE) that the AED has been accessed to.

This is a true milestone in Singapore and in the history of Public Access AED. Singapore First Aid Training Centre is also involved in this project – by training 12 ready volunteers and staff to be fully equipped with the skills of performing CPR and using the AED.

This clip includes an introduction by the Chairman of the AHE, Mr Wan as well as a short presentation by VIP for this event was MP Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Mdm Josephine Teo during this inaugural launch of the public access defibrillator AED in HDB estate.

Please provide your comments on this!