Teaching Assistant Emily York and her mother Tanya, also a TA, learn CPR with headteacher Jasbir Mann<\/p><\/div>\n

Twenty-one members and invited guests learned from volunteers with the charity Heartwize how to save lives.\u00a0The meeting was staged in the spacious and airy hall of Falcons Primary School in Leicester whose headteacher, Jasbir Mann, is a member of the Rotary club.<\/p>\n

President Pradeep Popat welcomed the guests, who included staff from Falcons, two teachers from secondary schools, two students from De Montfort University who cycled there from the city centre, and others, including, of course, Dr Doug Skehan, from Heartwize accompanied by trainers, including some from the Rotary Club of Melton Mowbray.<\/p>\n

Dr Skehan gave an introduction incorporating a short video. He explained that time is of the essence when trying to save a life. If someone suffers a cardiac arrest and no-one steps forward to help, the victims chances of recovering drop to nil after only about 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

Trainees and trainers enjoyed a delicious buffet provided free by President Pradeep,\u00a0who is proprietor of the Mirch Masala restaurant before they\u00a0got down\u00a0\u2014 quite literally on hands and knees \u2014 to business.<\/p>\n

Using mannequins, they learned about the key stages of DRS ABC<\/strong><\/p>\n

D<\/strong> – Danger; make sure that neither the patient nor helpers are in danger
\nR<\/strong> – Response; check to see if the victim is responsive to shaking and shouting
\nS<\/strong> – Shout; or call for help. Get someone to dial 999 or 112. The latter is good from mobile phones since the emergency services can use GPS to locate where you are calling from<\/p>\n

A<\/strong> – Airway; is the patient’s airway clear?
\nB<\/strong> – Breathing; is the patient breathing? Check for obstructions in the mouth
\nC<\/strong> – CPR; start cardio-pulmonary resuscitation<\/p>\n

That, trainees learned, involved in applying a series of 30 sudden downward pressures on the patient’s chest at a rate of about two a second. Then giving two rescue breaths. The trainees repeated and repeated the procedure and found that it is hard physical effort.<\/p>\n