On Saturday the 5th of November 2016 Sea Rescue will work with organisations including the Resuscitation Council of Southern Africa, Emergency Medicine Cape Town, Emergency Medical Services and Lifeguards to teach Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to as many people as possible.
The CPR initiative started yesterday, 31 October 2016 with Instructors visiting schools and various other organisations to teach Hands-On CPR. It will culminate with emergency service professionals and volunteers at high profile venues teaching thousands of South Africans how to activate emergency services and how to do Hands-On CPR.
“Everybody should know how to do CPR,” said NSRI CEO Dr Cleeve Robertson. Currently First Aid is included in the Grade 6 school curriculum but how to do CPR is not. This must be changed. Every child coming out of a South African school should know how to call an ambulance and how to do CPR,” said Dr Robertson.
“We need to strengthen the “chain of survival” skills in our communities,” says Kathy Bodmer of the Resuscitation Council. “The only chance of survival a victim has, is if someone knows how to call for an ambulance and how to perform basic CPR, until a more advanced healthcare provider arrives.”
“It is an outreach activity, aimed at serving our community by teaching basic CPR skills,” says Dr Sian Geraty of Emergency Medicine Cape Town. We will be teaching Hands-On CPR as well as how to contact emergency services. There will be no cost to passers-by who would like to take advantage of this offer,” said Dr Geraty.
“CPR is a vital life skill that everyone, not just emergency personnel, should learn. The quicker CPR can be applied the better the chances of survival. National CPR Day is a great initiative to highlight the importance of learning to do CPR,” said Lifesaving South Africa President Dylan Tommy.
Penguin at the Boulders Penguin Colony, South Africa.