CPR, AED training in Petaling Jaya an effort to improve public emergency response
PERFORMING cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to Stayin’ Alive by The Bee Gees may sound weird, but the song perfectly matches the minimum of 100 beats per minute required for the life-saving act.
However, SK Fam said the iconic disco track was not necessary for him. He thinks he can keep the rhythm without having to hum the song if he ever has to administer CPR.
“Today’s CPR lesson was easy enough to understand, and is something that could be applied in real life,” said the SS20 Central Zone Residents Association (RA) vice-chairman.
“It would be good to have a refresher course at least once or twice a year for better recall of how to perform CPR.”
Fam was one of the 30-odd residents from the SS20 neighbourhood in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, who attended a basic emergency response training programme on how to perform CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED).
It was organised by the offices of Bandar Utama assemblyman Jamaliah Jamaluddin and Petaling Jaya City councillor Yip Sean Yi, in collaboration with the SS20 Rukun Tetangga (RT), SS20 Central Zone RA and SS20 Northern Zone RA.
Jamaliah also launched the AED placed outside Restoran Golden Kim Wah, a popular coffeeshop in SS20.
The RM7,000 defibrillator was purchased using an allocation of RM5,000 from Jamaliah’s office and RM2,000 from Yip’s office.
Another participant, Wong Yin Choo feels that knowing CPR is useful in emergency situations while waiting for emergency responders or before taking someone to hospital.
“I believe giving CPR can help even if the technique is not correct,” said the SS20 Central Zone RA assistant secretary.
“I learnt CPR several years ago, but today’s programme was a good refresher.”
Online reports from medical portals say delivering imperfect or incorrect CPR is better than doing nothing at all, as during cardiac arrest, every minute without intervention decreases chances of survival.
SS20 RT chairman James Lee said having some basic emergency response training was useful, especially in a neighbourhood with a large number of senior citizens.
“But these days we do hear of young people suddenly collapsing while playing sports, even though they seem healthy.
“Knowing how to perform CPR and use the AED in such a situation is helpful, although I’m not sure if I will be able to recall everything I learned if I find myself in such a stressful scenario,” he said.
Lee said the residents’ participation was encouraging while the programme’s trainers were attentive.
He also expressed hope for more AEDs at high-traffic public areas such as malls and schools, and for a comprehensive and updated platform to find the nearest AED.
“Today’s training aimed to have more people equipped with a life-saving skill,” said Yip.
“Jamaliah and I both support the programme because we see it as something necessary as Petaling Jaya moves towards an ageing population.”
She said the residents’ groups agreed to have the AED installed at the restaurant for public use.
