Wednesday 18 July 2012

Cardiac rescue equipment to be kept at Kovai railway station, airport

Cardiac rescue equipment to be kept at Kovai railway station, airport

Special Correspondent
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Automated External Defibrillators will be kept at Collectorate, RTO and bus stands in Coimbatore
To save people who suffer heart attack while in a public place, Rotary Club of Coimbatore will install 10 automated external defibrillators where public movement is high in the city. The Coimbatore Railway Junction will have three defibrillators, and one each will be installed in the Collectorate, Coimbatore Airport, the District Sessions Court, Regional Transport Office and the Ukkadam, Gandhipuram and Singanallur bus stands. The AEDs will be installed at the railway junction and the Collectorate on July 19, to mark the launch of the programme.
Each AEDs cost Rs.1.5 lakh. While the club has contributed Rs.10 lakh, the manufacturer of the AEDs –Philips – has waived the balance amount of Rs.5 lakh as part of its corporate-social responsibility.
Project Co-ordinator of the club J. Bala Venkat said this was conceived after the death of Ganga Hospital’s anaesthetist V. Ravindra Bhat. He suffered a heart attack while waiting to board train at the station. This exposed the lack of a system to save heart attack victims in places where public congregate in large numbers.
“In Japan’s capital Tokyo, an AED is available every 500 metres. Developed nations have such emergency rescue apparatus in public places and also train people in using these,” Dr. Venkat said.
“Coimbatore will be the first city to have the AED in as many as 10 public places. The Indian Society of Critical Care Management and the Indian Red Cross Society have offered to train people, including the common public, in using the AED and also in other forms of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation,” he said.
First, training will be given to the railway staff at the Coimbatore junction, right from the Station Manager to the porter on the platform. Any member of the public trained in the use of the device can also carry out the revival measure on a person who had suffered a heart attack.
Similarly, training will be provided to the staff at the airport and the other places where the AEDs will be installed.

Burglar-proof glass

All the AEDs will be kept in a burglar-proof glass case. The opening of the case will set off an alarm that will alert the people/authorities that either there is a burglary attempt or that someone has suffered a heart attack and needs help.
While the trained person will use the defibrillator on the patient, the others can mobilise an ambulance to shift the person to a hospital.
Dr. Venkat said he and Rotary Club of Coimbatore president K.S. Balakrishnan, secretary Gurpreet Singh and Project Chairman N. Sundaravadivelu drew up an action plan on installing the life-saving devices.
District Collector M. Karunagaran identified the spots where these could be located.

Sponsor

“These 10 locations need not be the only ones to have the AEDs. More organisations can join in sponsoring these for the public. At the same time, educational institutions, offices, commercial complexes such as malls, cinemas and even gated communities can have these. Training can always be provided to people on using these,” he said.

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