The panel of experts include prominent names such as
Thenmoliee Joe (Kid’s behaviour, IQ, kids with special needs),
Claudel Kuek (Owner of PowerMoves Pilates Studio)
and Wong Li-Lin (yes, the actress from 90′s local drama “999″)
This is a great opportunity for parents and caregivers to post their questions and clear their doubts on first aid. In fact, I’ve already posted up a few common “myth busters” to begin with. You can read them here >>
938 Live Interview with Abdul Rasheed Doad, Training Director of Singapore First Aid Training Centre. Listen to it now!
03/11/09 A matter of life and death
Every second counts in a medical emergency.
And basic knowledge in first aid, which includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR can help save precious lives.
However, the Singapore First Aid Training Centre says about 80 per cent of cardiac arrest victims who need CPR do not receive it.
As a result, the survival rate of sudden cardiac arrest victims here is less than three per cent.
This is very low – considering their survival rate is 15 times better in the United States.
So why aren’t many Singaporeans receiving first aid at times when they need it most?
Shaffiq Alkhatib finds out.
TITLE: 03/11 First Aid
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Fifty-eight year old wellness coach, Ash Phua had a near-death experience ten years ago.
The fitness buff had just completed an evening jog near his home.
“I was staying at Pasir Ris at that time, and just opposite my flat is Seashell Park and they’ve got a 400-metre track. And to go up to the track, you’ve got to climb 76 steps. I did my warm-up, I did my main exercise. I think that day, I did 12 rounds which is 4.8 kilometers. But while walking down the steps, I felt a chill all over. After going down a few more steps, I felt giddy. I sat down on the steps and held on to the railing.”
Mr Phua says, he picked himself up and tried to make his way home.
But he collapsed near a traffic light, a stone’s throw away from his flat.
“I lost total consciousness. The next moment, I head a lady screaming, ‘Oi! Fifteen minutes already. When is your ambulance coming? This guy is dying on me.’ All I could do was just listen to her. I could not react, I could not do anything.”
He only regained consciousness in hospital.
A doctor told him that he had suffered his first heart attack.
He wouldn’t be alive if not for one Alice Poon who called the ambulance and an unknown man who performed CPR on him before the ambulance arrived.
“She happened to be in a cab with her son. While the taxi was approaching the traffic light, she told the driver, ‘I think a man is lying down there.’ And the taxi driver stopped. And according to her, while she was with me, she called the ambulance and there was a guy, some passer-by who came and the man did CPR on me. But he did not wait for the ambulance to come. She did not know who he was but he did that and he left.”
Mr Phua says his brush with death increased his awareness on the importance of learning simple first aid skills and CPR.
He is now trained in them and encourages others to do likewise.
Abdul Rasheed Doad, is the founder of the Singapore First Aid Training Centre.
“Statistics show that about 30 thousand people are trained each year. But we have a hunch that there is a lot more than 30 thousand. Our centre alone trains close to ten thousand a year, and there are a couple other centres around Singapore. Most of people who sign up for first aid courses here, they are either sent by their companies, or they need to do it because of requirements in their industries. For example, you are a coach, you need to have a first aid certificate. Less than two percent come to us on their own accord just to learn first aid for their own benefit or for their family’s benefit. In other countries, they actually do first aid training right from a very young age. Sometimes, even the education system embraces first aid training.”
Mr Abdul Rasheed hopes that schools would in future make learning first aid skills mandatory.
“Number one on the list is definitely CPR. Especially with our ageing population, people are more prone to getting cardiac arrest. Doing the Heimlich manoeuvre – helping someone who’s choking, which is very simple but is life-saving. Stopping bleeding and simple things like treating burns or bruises. Where we come from, a lot of people think that they should put some toothpaste on a burn, or put some soya sauce even – whereas, you can just treat burns with water.”
Mr Abdul Rasheed also highlights another problem; people who’ve been trained but won’t step forward in an emergency.
“People fear two things. One is stepping forward and helping. And the other is, they feel they are not the right person to help. Probably, they will just wait for the doctor or paramedic to arrive and help. Definitely, every one should know a little bit about first aid – at least the basics. Most importantly is to help them address their fears, because even though you have the skills, you might just freeze up and not act because emergencies can be scary. That must be addressed on a large scale.”
This can be done via outreach initiatives such as forums and talks, says Mr Abdul Rasheed.
For example, his centre conducted a course called “My True Hero” earlier this year which focused on encouraging first aiders to come forward to help in an emergency.
Participants who’ve attended the course have given it the thumbs up.
One of them’s, Mr Cheng who works in the construction industry,
He says the course has boosted his confidence and now he truly believes that he can save lives.
Watch the official My True Hero Seminar video with clippings and testimonials from our inaugural launch in March 2009. Get ready for the next one in Nov 2009 this year!!
This is the second part of the presentation which is conducted at BNI Renaissance on the 11th March 2009. During this segment, Mr Rasheed talks about what first aid really does and why it is so important, from the viewpoint of paramedics and doctors. Mr Rasheed also answers a few common questions about first aid and CPR. This segment is approximately 10 minutes long and is the second part of this first aid presentation.
Singapore First Aid Training Centre featured on the Suria news. A clip showing NRC accredited CPR+AED course being conducted for Singapore Silat Federation (PERSISI) athletes. Features the full line up of silat national athletes including Mr Sheik Alauddin, former national silat champion. Dr Fatimah Lateef, MP GRC Marine Parade was present to share her comments and teachings to the CPR+AED participants.
Finally! A First Aid Blog!
Welcome to the Singapore First Aid Training Centre Blog! Visit us to get the latest happenings and important updates in the first aid, CPR, AED and ACLS arena!
From the desk of Rasheed:
