Mumbai kids could soon get some life-saving lessons in school

MUMBAI: The next time you spot a youngster administering first aid to an accident victim, don't be surprised. He may have picked up the life-saving skills from his class teacher.
In a bid to create a youth brigade to help victims in the golden hour (the first 60 minutes after the occurrence of a multi-system trauma), Dial 1298 for Ambulance has initiated a series of seminars in Mumbai schools and colleges.On Friday, teachers of Nutan Vidya Mandir in Malad (W) were trained in basic life support techniques so that they can pass them on to their students.
In a three-hour workshop, the teachers were introduced to first aid and handling of patient during medical emergencies such as burns, stroke, drowning and heart attack. They also got hands-on training of bandaging, splinting and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Each teacher performed these techniques on a mannequin.
"We have learnt many things that we were not aware of. We would be proud if our students save lives of the people,'' said one of the teachers who found the workshop enlightening.
Recalling a stroke that her father suffered, another teacher Sumangala Dalvi said, "My family could not recognise the symptoms and it was only two days later that his treatment began. Fortunately, he is Al right now but anything could have happened due to our ignorance. Basic knowledge of medical emergencies is really important.''
Dr Ajay Desai of Life Supporters Institute of Health Sciences answered the queries of otherwise well-informed teachers."Sometimes people can cause more harm than good in the golden hour. The death of an accident victim at D N Road near CST and the way people handled her was unfortunate,'' he said.
Karina Zaveri of Dial 1298 for Ambulance said, "We started our group as an ambulance service. But later we realised that only providing ambulances service is not enough. A person can do a lot for the victim in the time between he calls an ambulance and when it actually arrives. To train youngsters for this purpose, we are conducting free workshops in schools and colleges in the city.''
Shweta Mangal, director of Dial 1298 for Ambulance, said they want to make a 1298 youth brigade. "We believe that the youth are the ones who have to take the next step, a small step towards saving the lives of Mumbaikars by providing them help in the time of emergency,'' she said.