Free community CPR training programme launched by Irish Heart Foundation
The Irish Heart Foundation has this week (Tuesday 19th March) launched a new free community CPR training programme, Hands for Life. The programme, which is supported by Abbott and ESB Networks, was launched in Dublin by heroic nurse Aoife McGivney who recently intervened and saved the life of a bus driver who was suffering a cardiac emergency.
Hands for Life will offer free CPR training to 100,000 people in local communities throughout Ireland over the next two years. Hands for Life training courses are free and open to all adults aged 18 and over. To find a course near you, visit www.HandsForLife.ie.
Communities, groups and clubs who have 30 or more people interested in a free Hands for Life training course can contact the Irish Heart Foundation directly on 01 668 5001 or handsforlife@irishheart.ie to arrange a training course in their locality.
The training course takes just under one hour to complete and attendees will learn:
- How to recognise a cardiac arrest
- How to perform compressions, including hands-on practice on a CPR training manikin
- How to use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator)
- How to respond to a choking emergency
- How to recognise a stroke
- Step 1: If you see a person suddenly collapse, check for a response. Call their name and shake them gently on the shoulder.
- Step 2: If there is no response call 112 or 999 immediately to get help on the way.
- Step 3: If the person is still not responding and is not breathing normally, then make sure the person is lying flat on their back on the ground. Kneel close beside them and place your two hands on the centre of their chest in line with their nipples, one on top of the other, and keep your arms straight.
- Step 4: Start compressions. Push hard and fast. Push down at least five centimetres or two inches and push at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute. The Bee Gees song ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is the perfect CPR rhythm. Keep going until the emergency services arrive.
- Tip 1: When you call the emergency services, put your phone on loudspeaker so that you can immediately start compressions while speaking to the emergency calltaker.
- Tip 2: Know your Eircode. This will help the emergency services find you.
- Tip 3: Always remember, you can do no harm by starting CPR. It is better to give CPR to someone who doesn’t need it than not to give it to someone who does. By starting CPR immediately, you can double or even triple a person’s chances of survival.