Indian Academy of Paediatrics celebrated National CPR Day by organising multiple engagement activities at PGIMER
The IAP National Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) day is observed on July 21 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of one of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP)’s BLS- ALS Instructor Dr Anand Shandilya.
To celebrate the day, the Division of Paediatric Critical Care, APC, PGIMER, GMCH, Sector 32 and GMSH, Sector 16 in collaboration with Tricity Branch of IAP and the IAP Accredited BLS Centre, conducted multiple activities over the week, which included a BLS Course for doctors and nurses attended by 64 delegates on 17th July at APC, PGIMER, and two BLS mass awareness courses for 300 PGIMER security personnel on 18-19th July at APC PGIMER.
Apart from these hands on BLS courses were conducted for over 200 school children and teachers of three Tricity schools on 18, 19th and 20th July at Chitkara International School, Sec 25, Chandigarh; Chitkara International School, Sector 28, Panchkula and St. Stephen School, Sector 45, Chandigarh. The weeklong activities were concluded with a quiz for junior doctors here at PGIMER.
Basic life support (BLS) is a series of steps undertaken to revive an adult/child who has suffered a cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a set of skills used to revive heart beats by sequential chest compression and artificial breathing. Ten percent of all deaths are caused by sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). In children the prognosis or revival after cardiac arrest is much better than adults. In India, exact figures of SCA are unknown but are believed to be similar to the western world. Majority of SCA events occur at home, and almost 85% of these events are witnessed. It is now scientifically proven that bystander CPR provided to the victim at the site of cardiac arrest, improves the chances of survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
The Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support group of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has several CPR modules designed to train doctors, nurses, paramedics and lay persons. These modules are simple, easy to understand and cater to different segments of the society. The IAP BLS training includes comprehensive hands on CPR skills to revive infant ( less than 1 year of age), child and adult victim. The training is imparted to concerned target groups through written course manual and training videos.
The IAP promotes the country wide BLS training, through the network of IAP-accredited CPR centres across the country. Chandigarh has an IAP accredited CPR Centre, run jointly by the three major hospitals viz Advanced Pediatrics Centre, PGIMER, Department of Paediatrics GMCH Sector 32 and Department of Pediatrics GMSH, Sector 16.
