THE Penang Heart Safe Programme Committee has trained 20,000 people in Penang on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) using automated external defibrillator (AED) since 2015.
State Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin said it is important that more people should learn simple life saving measures to help save family members or friends during a sudden cardiac arrest.
“We’ve a small window of opportunity, only a few minutes, to try to revive a victim. In Malaysia, there is less than one percent survival rate. Hence, such skills to help the victims must be learned,” Dr Afif said during the launching of the AED handover ceremony and a mass CPR & AED training at the hall of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Island Park today.
Also present were church priest Father Joachim Robert, the church’s emergency response team head Dr Ramona Edel Pereira, Zoll Medical Singapore Pte Ltd vice-president (Asia Pacific Operations) Christopher Barnabas and programme committee chairman Datuk Luah Lean Wah.
“Now, there are 50 AEDs placed in public places. With the cooperation of the public, the government aims to place more AEDs. And they must not be kept in cupboards or under the counters, but made visible and accessible.
“You can find a lot of AEDs in Singapore, at the airports, shopping malls and HDB flats. We’re working on the legislation with the local authorities to have AEDs installed in every public space, like houses of worship, residential areas, government offices and private institutions.
“We want to create a revolution in our society where if you find a fire extinguisher in a building, you can also find an AED.
“Whether we are Malays, Chinese or Indians, we want to create a better community. We want to make Penang a safer place for everyone.”
Dr Afif also thanked the committee and the church for organising the programme and Zoll Medical for donating the AED to the church.
He added that the programme is in line with Penang2030, the vision of Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, to make Penang a family-focused, smart and green state.
He also urged the 170 participants of the programme today, who are mostly the church’s parishioners and some nearby residents, to further promote the awareness of the programme.
“I hope that you all are inspired. It’s priceless to save people’s lives, even an individual. When you save a life today, you save humanity,” Dr Afif said as he recounted an incident that occurred at Chung Ling High School last September.
One former CLHS student, aged 49, collapsed due to a sudden cardiac arrest during an alumni football match on the school field but was revived by five CLHS students who are members of St John Ambulance.
According to Barnabas, it has been a good journey since his company joined in the programme in 2015 with the support of the state government.
“The awareness here is growing and other states are interested now. Cardiac arrest victims are savable. In Singapore, they have 10,000 AEDs in public places. Their survival rate is 15%. In Tokyo, the survival rate is 25% and in Seattle (USA), it is 55%,” said Barnabas.
An average AED costs RM8,000 while a high-end AED may cost between RM10,000 and RM12,000.
Dr Luah said that the programme in Penang started on Sept 7, 2015 and the first AED put up in a public place in the state was in Komtar on Dec 20, 2015.
The participants of today’s programme were divided into groups of seven to eight persons per group to undergo about 75 minutes of basic training.
Father Robert said the church was grateful to receive the AED from Zoll.
“The church is celebrating its 50th anniversary and we don’t want to be just a religious foundation but is also involved in community building,” he said.
Story by K.H. Ong