When and when not to save a life
JOBURG – Trying to save someone's life is no child's play and should not be taken lightly.
When you see a person in distress or possibly in dire need of emergency medial assistance your first instinct is to help in anyway you possibly can. Even though your first call of duty should have been to have already gone through a CPR course.
Administering CPR is something that should not be taken lightly or thought of as something anyone can do without proper training. Robert Mulaudzi, Johannesburg EMS spokesperson, urges people to get the proper training on how to perform the life-saving technique.
“If you are not a trained you need to cautious,” said Mulaudzi.
Mulaudzi also added that when faced with someone in need of immediate emergency medical care and you are not trained in administrating CPR, your next step is to call ems and tell them the state of the person so they can give you clear instructions as to what actions you can take without CPR in the interim.
“We encourage training because without it you could do more harm than good,” said Mulaudzi.
Mulaudzi furthermore explained that there is no punishment for those who are untrained and administer the life-saving technique because they should know not to take matters in their own hands. He did say however, that when it came to professionals there is a regulatory body called the Health Professionals of South Africa where the public can call and lodge their complaints.
“There are four levels of trained professionals who can administer CPR,” said Mulaudzi.
Mulaudzi denoted that the four levels are:
- First Aid – level 1 to 3 training.
- Basic medic – trained to work in the ambulance
- Intermediate medic – advanced training and can administer drugs and are trained for about four months
- Advanced medic – one year training and classified as paramedics.
Mulaudzi concludes by expressing that because of these different levels, professionals should know their bounds and only administer what they are trained to handle. He also emphasised that he champions the idea of people getting CPR training.
Details: Health Professionals of South Africa info@hpcsa.co.za or 012 338 9300/ 012 338 9301; Johannesburg EMS 0860 562 874.
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