Thailand to train 10 million people in CPR over next 3 years
Health authorities want to mobilise an army of emergency responders in Thailand by training 10 million members of the public in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
On Monday (June 15), Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul presided over the Health Emergency Response Outstanding (HERO) Award for rescuers who had come to the aid of victims suffering heart attacks. Anutin noted that CPR increases the survival chances for people with cardiac arrest, which is the primary cause of death among Thais.
Health authorities are now organising training for village health volunteers and the general public, aiming to give at least 10 million people life-saving CPR skills within the next three years.
So far this year, the 1669 emergency hotline had received more than 90,000 calls for aid from people looking after patients who stopped breathing, said Dr Atchariya Paengma, secretary-general of the National Institute of Emergency Medicine. In each case, the patient’s chance of survival would be higher if the people at hand had knowledge and skills in basic rescue or CPR.
