HEART Foundation Emphasises Importance of CPR Training in the Workplace

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) is encouraging corporate entities to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in their employee training schedules.

Speaking during a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, Consultant Anaesthesist and Intensivist at the Andrews Memorial Hospital in Kingston, Dr. Lambert Innis, said it is important to have persons trained in this important life-saving technique within the workplace.

“We recommend training in CPR as you would do for First Aid and all the other health and safety measures that you undertake for your employees within the workplace,” he emphasised.

Dr. Innis assured that “the Heart Foundation is ready with a team that will come to your location and train your employees for you”.

He indicated that the training will also include use of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a medical device used in basic life support.

Dr. Innis reiterated that it is designed for ease of use by members of the public, pointing out that even children can use AEDs.

“The evidence today is that someone as young as a seven-year-old was able to successfully use an AED to save the life of his grandfather. All he did was pick it up and follow the instructions,” he shared.

“That’s how it is designed. It will talk to you. It is for the lay person. You don’t have to have any medical training, just turn it on and follow the instructions,” he added.

Dr. Innis, who is also a CPR Instructor at the HFJ, said he anticipates seeing certain categories of workers trained to use the device.

“As a doctor and as a person who teaches CPR right across the country, I would like to see more AEDs out there in the public sphere… for example all supermarkets and shopping malls should all have one strategically located, just like at the airport” he noted.

Dr. Innis also recommended that ambulances be outfitted with AEDs as part of their life-saving equipment.

He also expressed a wish to see all police officers trained in CPR and opined that all service vehicles should be outfitted with AEDs, pointing out that “whenever there is an emergency, medical or otherwise, the first person to get a call is usually the policy”.

Dr. Innis commended companies that have commenced CPR training and the acquisition of AEDs and advised that the devices may be sourced at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica.