TO ensure that the House of Representatives (HRep) is well prepared and equipped to handle medical emergencies at its premises, personnel from the HRep Medical and Dental Service (MDS) on Wednesday underwent training on basic life support (BLS).
“Emergencies can occur anytime, anywhere,” MDS SLSO III Dr. Michael Bautista warned, adding that knowledge of BLS could spell the difference between life and death of a person.
The Wednesday training was the second session on the subject. The first session was held last Monday.
The goal according to Bautista is to train as many able Secretariat staff as possible “so that marami sa atin or majority of our employees will be prepared in case kailangan nating mag-provide nitong BLS cardiac support,” until medical help arrives.
Four facilitators from the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (ARMMC) discussed basic life savings procedures in case of a heart attack.
“Alam naman po natin that in the Philippines the number one cause of sickness is cardiovascular disease,” nurse Rosman Espeleta said.
He also noted the high risk of disasters that may befall the country, being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
In this regard, trainings for standard first aid, mass casualty management, incident command system, as well as emergency response or the so-called “hero training” are also provided.
Meanwhile, nurse Kevin Lance Hangor demonstrated how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while nurse Jenny Rose Ramos discussed Rescue Breathing due to Respiratory Arrest and Foreign Body Airway Obstruction (FBAO).
The MDS will conduct another BLS training on Thursday, during which participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate what they learned from the sessions, and receive certificates.
For the facilitators, the BLS trainings equips non-professional rescuers and increase the chances of survival of persons who suffer sudden cardiac arrest.
“This is a training that we hope we will never have to use. However, if the need arises, it is best that we are equipped and knowledgeable of what we have do in such emergencies,” Bautista ended.
