Medical college cleaning staff trained to give CPR

Surat: Now even the cleaning staff of New Civil Hospital (NCH) and Government Medical College (GMC) in Surat are as adept as the doctors in giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a patient. Should there be an emergency, then you can trust a sweeper or a liftman of GMC to give immediate assistance to a patient of a heart attack brought to the hospital or to someone needing it even outside the premises.
The staff and the students of GMC are being trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation as a part of a project. So far 500 individuals, including doctors, nursing staff, students and class IV employees, have been trained to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The training will continue at GMC until all the employees are covered.

“As per the directives of top health authorities, we have started giving CPR training to all the staff members here. We will soon become an institution where everyone, including students and staff, know how to give CPR to a patient,” dean of GMC Jayesh Brahmbhatt said.

Some senior volunteers were chosen for training under the project initially and later they trained other members of the staff and students. An individual is trained to identify the systems of a patient who is in need of CPR and then given practical training, the officials said. Once an individual is trained, he or she can accurately assist a patient in emergency.

“The ability to give CPR is not just another medical training, but a medium which helps create a feeling among the employees and students that their role is very important in the time of crisis. They can help others when a situation so arises outside the campus,” Brahmbhatt added.