Health Providers Get CPR Training
By Khairunnisa Ibrahim and Shafiyi Azahari

Bandar Seri Begawan - Health authorities are taking steps to ensure that healthcare professionals and interested individuals are armed with the knowledge and skills necessary to administer rapid emergency response in sudden cardiac arrest and other health crises.

The Ministry of Health organised Brunei's first ever National Advanced Cardiac Life Support Provider and Instructor Course for Doctors and Nurses.

This is in recognition of the fact that knowledge of emergency response actions is vital in life-threatening situations and can often increase a victim's chances for survival.

Minister of Health Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman said coronary heart disease was the second most common cause of death in the country, accounting for about 21 per cent of all deaths last year.

Most heart diseases are preventable, however, and cardio pulmonary resuscitation or CPR can often reduce the morbidity and mortality from such conditions.

"A healthcare professional or a by-stander who is adequately trained in CPR would be able to increase the chances for survival of a patient with cardiac arrest," he said.

Pehin Dato Suyoi also emphasised the importance of getting the patient early access to emergency medical care, early defibrillation-the use of electric therapy to revive a cardiac arrest patient - and advanced cardiac life support in enchancing the -patient's chances of survival.

These actions make up the stages of emergency response, dubbed the Chain of Survival by the American Heart Association, and should be strengthened and supported, by healthcare providers in Brunei.

Eight senior and experienced physicians and nurses from the Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore have been invited to conduct the course, said the cochairperson of the organising committee, Dr Ang Swee Hui.

Course participants, comprising selected doctors and nurses from various fields from the Ministry of Health, the armed forces, Gleneagles JPMC and the Panaga Health Centre, would form the frontline team that would be called upon to provide "initial treatments to patients with cardiac arrest or other cardiopulmonary emergencies", Dr Ang said.

The course involves simulated and realistic clinical scenarios, where participants would be encouraged to actively participate in the activities and practise essential skills.

Dr Ang said after acquiring the necessary skills and. knowledge, successful participants would have the chance to proceed to the instructor course where they would be trained to be an instructor for future programs. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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