University students are advised to learn first aid, as many of the deaths that currently occur can be prevented by simple measures.
Studying at a university far from home simply means that one will be living away from family. This means that the student will have to learn various skills and become more responsible in terms of facing certain responsibilities. One of these skills that needs to be learned is first aid, says the Independent.
The Independent reports that according to research, about 70 percent of university students admit to lacking the necessary skills important to saving a life, and thus there’s an urgent need for students to receive such training.
First aid skills, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are very crucial in certain cases. Sadly, as many lack the confidence to perform such acts, many preventable deaths are not prevented, says the British Red Cross.
A study commissioned by the Red Cross and conducted by researchers from the University of Manchester in UK, found that more than half (or 59%) of all deaths that occur before the patient arrives at the hospital can be prevented if someone who knew first aid measures actually took action.
The study also found that while 93% of people quickly call for an ambulance when they find someone injured, the number of those who apply first aid aren’t as much.
“The good news is that most people are calling 999,” Joe Mulligan, head of first aid education at the British Red Cross, said. “However, after calling 999, we want people to then do something in those crucial minutes before the ambulance arrives.”
“Every person needs to recognise that in an emergency, you are part of the ‘chain of survival,'” he added.
As such, the British Red Cross says that these two basic skills are crucial and that the general public should know them:
– If the person is unresponsive but breathing, place them on their side with their head tilted back so that they can continue to breath.
– If the person is bleeding heavily, apply pressure on the wound/s to stop bleeding and prevent possible death by bleeding.
Calling for help should be done along with these first aid measures. Students are advised to call 999 and ask for help in emergencies whenever possible.
Please note that this was taken form the UK where the emergency services phone number is 999. If in Australia please call 000 in the case of an emergency.
I spent four years at university and saw many first aid accident that could have been dealt with better if only the students had taken part in a first aid course. Luckily we are finding that there are more uni students attending our first aid courses in Canberra. This is due to many health courses and education students need to gain the skills before they do professional development. We also complete first aid training for many of the universities in Canberra and their residents. Please book in to a first aid course in Canberra in the future with Canberra First Aid.
Diabetes is a chronic condition that is becoming increasingly common in Australia. While type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in childhood, a lifelong auto-immune disease believed to be caused by an interaction of genetic and environmental factors, type 2 diabetes comes later in life and is largely preventable. Unfortunately, too many of us are overweight, inactive, with a poor diet and bad habits, increasing the risk of diabetes. If you think diabetes is easily fixed with insulin, you are wrong, and perhaps underestimating the dangers. At its worst, poorly managed diabetes can cause heart disease, kidney disease, blindness and lower limb amputation.
An estimated 1.2 million Australians, or 5.1 per cent of the population, had diabetes in 2014-15, the majority type 2. But it is thought that for every four adults who were diagnosed, one would be living without knowing their status. Diabetes is more common in men than women, and prevalence increases with age, to about 16 per cent for those aged 65-74. It is also often associated with other conditions. In 2013, diabetes contributed to 10 per cent of all deaths in Australia, most cases listing diabetes as an associated cause (coronary heart disease was the underlying cause in 23 per cent of those deaths and stroke in 6 per cent). Regrettably, indigenous Australians are 3.5 times more likely than other Australians to have diabetes, and four times more likely to be hospitalised or die from the condition.
Australians with type 2 diabetes have access to various resources but, according to one expert, need more support to manage their condition. Writing in the Medical Journal of Australia in August, Jane Speight from Deakin University and Diabetes Victoria called for a “paradigm shift” to improve self-management, while researchers continue searching for better treatments and interventions. Speight cited a study showing one in five diabetics never, or infrequently, ate healthily, and two in three did not engage in physical activity, but there was widespread distress over future health outcomes. “This suggests that, far from being apathetic or unmotivated to manage their diabetes, many people overestimate their risk of long-term complications and feel burdened or unsupported trying to manage a complex and unrelenting condition,” she wrote.
Risk factors and issues surrounding access to medical care mean that diabetics in remote areas, particularly indigenous communities, are far more likely to require an amputation. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has found huge variation in amputation rates, ranging from eight for every 100,000 people in North Sydney and Hornsby in NSW to 91 in outback Northern Territory and 73 in outback Queensland. A Queensland University of Technology study estimates that funding better care of diabetic foot ulcers could save $2.7 billion over five years and prevent thousands of hospitalisations. “Not only do patients receiving the best care have faster ulcer healing, fewer recurrent ulcers, hospitalisations and amputations, but they also have a better quality of life and we still save thousands of dollars per patient,” says health economist Rosana Norman.
Common environmental synthetic chemicals may be exacerbating the obesity problem. There is mounting evidence that environmental pollutants such as plasticisers, pesticides and coolants are contributing to metabolic disorders by disrupting the production and regulation of hormones in the body. A Swedish study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, suggests cutting exposure to these chemicals by just 25 per cent could help prevent more than 150,000 cases of diabetes each year in Europe. “Our findings also speak to the need for a strong regulatory framework that proactively identifies chemical hazards before they are widely used, and the use of safer alternatives,” it says.
By 2040, the International Diabetes Federation estimates one in 10 adults around the world, about 642 million people, will have diabetes.
Melbourne’s Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, in collaboration with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, is set to examine the number of new type 2 diabetes diagnoses around the world. It will seek to better identify trends, for example the apparent slowing in rates in the US and feared outbreaks in southeast Asia.
“While we have consistently been hearing about escalating rates of diabetes in Australia, for example, this is based on prevalence and it could be that the incidence actually demonstrates a slowing in the number of diagnosed new cases,” says the institute’s head of population health, Jonathan Shaw.
Learn how to treat someone if they have a diabetic issue in one of our first aid courses in Canberra. I cant believe with all of the information out their on how positive physical activity, sleep and eating right can help save you from this disease that we are still seeing the rise in type 2 diabetes. Not only should you book in to a first aid course in Canberra but get out and about in this great city, start eating healthy and make sure you are getting 8 hours of sleep a night. It will save your life.
There’s nothing quite like the experience of a live music festival. Hearing your favourite bands, hanging out with your friends, and living in the moment are things you’ll never forget.
You don’t want to miss a single second, but you also don’t want crime, illness or injuries to spoil your fun. If you want to ensure an epic music adventure, then consider these safety tips when travelling to gigs and festivals.
Accidents, injuries and the elements
Your festival may be in a grassy field, or a football stadium, under trees or the beating sun. Wherever it is, you may face unusual physical demands that can lead to bug bites, sunburn, twisted ankles, and sore muscles. Pack some basic first-aid items and pain killers, along with sunscreen, sunglasses and bug repellent. Once you arrive at the festival, scope out the first-aid locations in case you need them.
Unfortunately, accidents can happen when you are getting to and from the festival. If you’re in your car, you need to be prepared to deal with drivers who are careless or drinking. One way to protect yourself is to hire a car. Make sure the rental company carries drivers negligence insurance, and get help making a compensation claim from a reputable company if you are in an accident.
Crime
It might seem like it’s all peace and love, but where large crowds gather, so do criminals and predators. Don’t bring all your credit cards with you, and leave expensive jewellery at home. Keep your identification and valuables in a purse with a zipper. You can also invest in a travel purse that you can wear round your neck. Before you go, make copies of any cards you’ll be taking in case they get lost or stolen.
Keep an eye on your drinks to avoid anyone adding anything, and don’t take drinks from strangers. Set up a place to find your friends if you get separated, and adopt a buddy system for wandering round the festival grounds.
Look for security stations when you arrive, in case you need to flag one of them. Before your trip, be sure to inform others where you’ll be and for how long.
Illness
There are some illnesses you can avoid whilst you are at the festival. By drinking loads of water, you will avoid dehydration, which can give you headaches or cause fainting. It’s also helpful to drink water if you are also drinking alcohol. Water helps ward off hangovers, and it helps you pace yourself so you don’t get ill from over-imbibing.
If you’ll be eating that wonderful festival food, pack some antacids in case you’re sensitive to deep-fried cuisine. Be sure to clean your hands before and after eating anything, to get rid of bacteria you pick up from the festival venue.
If you’ve got a mobile phone, help is just a call away, but makes sense to take safety measures before and during your trip so you can just enjoy the music. Have a great time!
This one is for all of our festival goer friends at Canberra First Aid, make sure you follow some of these basic safety guidelines when heading to your festivals over summer. It would also be worth while to complete a first aid course with us so that you have some skills to help out your friends or family in case of an emergency this summer.
Parents are calling for all staff in nurseries in Wales to have paediatric first aid training. Similar steps have already been taken in England, after a nine-month-old died after choking on her lunch.
Nine-month old Millie died after choking on food at a nursery in Manchester. Now her parents have written to the Welsh Government asking them to support their campaign for all nursery staff to be trained in paediatric first
Currently regulations in Wales require at least one member of staff trained in first aid for every 10 children, though evidence suggests providers tend to have more trained staff than the minimum requirement.
9-month-old Millie Thompson died in 2012 Credit: ITV Granada
In a statement, the Welsh Government said that the safety of children who use childcare in Wales is a “priority”.
The law, standards and the regulation and inspection arrangements for childcare ensures that providers of registered care and their staff have the relevant first aid qualifications and training that is appropriate to meet the needs and age range of the children they care for. We will continue to keep these arrangements under review.
– WELSH GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON
It is absolutely crazy that all staff working in an education setting dont have to be trained in a first aid course on a regular basis. There are so many small incidents that happen to young children let alone large emergencies in first aid. In Canberra you can book in to a first aid course very easily and get the training that you need. We work in schools on a regular basis training the staff in our first aid courses so that they can save childrens lives. Book now into a first aid course in Canberra.
The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) has announced today the inauguration of its 4th Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Meeting (FAAM), hosting over 1,200 international researchers, clinicians and allied health professionals in Rome from 13–15 October 2016. This year’s edition is the largest food allergy meeting ever organised, confirming the increased attention that health care professionals and the general community are giving to this topic.
In Europe, more than 17 million people suffer from food allergies, of these 3.5 million are under 25 years of age. Furthermore, 8% of people suffering from food allergies are exposed to the risk of a severe reaction resulting in death. Food allergy reactions appear to be on the rise mainly amongst children: a seven-fold increase in hospital admissions for food anaphylaxis was reported in the UK and Australia over the last 10 years, among children aged 0–14 years.
The serious and life-threatening nature of the disease, with the burden of anaphylaxis and its increasing prevalence, makes food allergies a major public health concern, and also has considerable economic implications. The societal cost of food allergies could be incurred through directly managing allergies (e.g. purchase of drugs, allergen-free foods, hospitalisation and specialist medical care), or indirectly (e.g. lost time from work or school, as well as the loss of productivity). It is estimated that the cost of managing food allergies is greater than for other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, which costs the USA about USD $4,800 a year.
FAAM’s main ambition is to tackle this disease through a holistic approach including all stakeholders involved in managing the multifaceted nature of food allergies and anaphylaxis. In addition to allergists, pediatricians, and gastroenterologists, the meeting is being attended by food technologists, allied health professionals, policy makers and patient organisations. A multi-disciplinary arena bringing different specialists together is crucial to maintaining FAAM’s very successful nature, which is characterised by highly interactive multidisciplinary learning.
EAACI Guidelines on Food Allergies and Anaphylaxis
On the first day of FAAM 2016, EAACI has provided an update on the implementation plan of its Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Guidelines with a special focus on tools for primary care physicians. In fact, for the first time, the principal European association of primary care physicians was involved in EAACI’s debate on food allergies. Experts from EAACI and the European Association of General Practitioners (UEMO) have illustrated the steps for the successful implementation of these guidelines during a roundtable discussion chaired by Professor Antonella Muraro, President of EAACI and Chair of FAAM 2016, and Dr. Alberto Lupo, President of UEMO.
“General practitioners are at the forefront of diagnosing and treating patients, and only by strengthening collaboration with these practitioners will we be able to ensure an improved earlier identification and treatment of patients suffering from food allergies and anaphylaxis,” said Professor Muraro.
Current EU legislation related to food allergen labelling
Another important topic that will be discussed during FAAM 2016 is the current EU legislation related to food allergen labelling. Since December 2014, the EU Regulation No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers requires that information about a priority list of allergenic ingredients, included in a recipe, be provided on pre-packaged, loose and catered foods. Whilst this is helping consumers that suffer from allergies to avoid problematic foods, the unintended presence of allergens is resulting in the use of precautionary allergen labels. In relation to this topic, a new proposal for regulating the “may contain” labelling will be discussed, and an overview will be given of the international regulatory legislation on this topic.
“The influence of EU legislation on the industry’s day-to-day work and the impact on consumers that suffer from allergies are enormous. Therefore, all stakeholders should be aware of regulatory bodies’ actions, including the voluntary risk-assessment recommendations put in place by the industry,” highlighted Professor Clare Mills, Co-Chair of FAAM 2016 and Coordinator of EU-funded iFAAM project at the University of Manchester. Professor Muraro then added, “Safety is of utmost importance for patients and parents and their quality of life can dramatically change depending on the final legal recommendations”.
The meeting will also provide new updates on research and activities in this area, including from EU-funded iFAAM project, on how such labels can be used in a transparent, evidence-based way to communicate the potential risk of an allergen, rather than being used in a defensive way without any risk of allergen contamination.
The integrated approaches to food allergen and allergy management (iFAAM) programme is coordinated by Professor Mills at the University of Manchester. The project is funded by the European Union and 43 partners from across Europe, the USA and Australia and includes academic organisations, patient groups and the food industry. It aims to develop evidence-based approaches and tools for the management of allergens in food, integrate knowledge derived from their application into food allergy management plans and dietary advice and develop strategies to reduce the burden of food allergies in Europe.
Novel foods and novel allergens
The allergenic risk assessment of novel foods and novel allergens is a cutting-edge topic and will be addressed in a session featuring the presence, amongst other experts, of Antonio Fernandez Dumont from the European Food Safety Association (EFSA), who will discuss the European Union’s views on how to address this important issue.
In an era of increased climate change and food insecurity, new sources of dietary protein will urgently be needed. Some of these, such as insect protein, may not be widely consumed but could pose a risk for those with food allergies. New scientific approaches are required to ensure innovation in new food protein ingredients progress whilst ensuring individuals with food allergies are effectively protected. However, Professor Muraro commented that the cure to food allergies is very close to being found.
During the meeting, immunotherapy trial findings will also be presented. The topic “How to prevent food allergies” will comprehensively be discussed, illustrating latest research findings on modulating the immune response in early life and pregnancy, as well as the role of the microbiome in shaping the immune system’s reaction to food allergens.
These and many other topics will be further discussed in the context of a three-day reach programme, featuring more than 70 experts. The meeting’s symposia, seminars and workshops will offer the opportunity for experts to exchange ideas and cutting-edge innovations in science and medicine relating to food allergen biology, nutritional support and innovative therapeutic approaches to patient care and food safety.
“FAAM has always been a unique opportunity to reaffirm the vision that we are only able to help patients and adequately manage the several challenges associated with this disease by working together as stakeholders in a patient-centred approach,” commented Professor Muraro. “It is exciting to come to a meeting that brings people together from across the world and from different disciplines, all working to solve the problem of food allergies – from therapies and prevention to managing food allergens in manufactured foods. All working to make life better and safer for anyone unfortunate enough to suffer from a food allergy,” added Professor Mills.
Some interesting facts on Anaphylaxis and its prevalence and some of the work that is being done in Europe. To learn more about what anaphylaxis is and how it is treated please book in to a Canberra First Aid course in the near future. We promise that you wont be dissapointed in one of our first aid courses held at the Dickson Tradies. We look forward to seeing you.
IT’S known as the “killer of killers” because it attacks and eats some of the deadliest snakes on the planet but its unique venom could one day relieve a lot of human suffering.
Meet the long-glanded blue coral snake of southeast Asia. The visually striking snake with a vibrant blue body and a blood red head is a specialist feeder that preys on other fast moving, venomous snakes.
It has the world’s biggest venom glands which grow up to one quarter of its body length — and it certainly knows how to use them.
But despite the snake’s notoriety, its venom has remained largely a mystery until now. A team of scientists including a number of Australian researchers have studied the animal’s paralysis-inducing venom and believe it could hold immense potential for use in human medicine, particularly in the area of pain relief.
Dr Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland who contributed to the study told news.com.au that when in search of the world’s next wonder drug, he likes to look in the most unusual places. It was the uniqueness of the blue coral snake and its fast-acting venom which drew him to it.
“The speciality in my lab is to use evolution as our map, so we seek out the weirdest things we can find,” he said. “Because we have a very simple premise that if you want to find something new and wonderful for use in human medicine, you’re more likely to find it from a very unusual venom.”
Simply put, “We can’t predict where the next wonder drug is going to come from,” the venomologist said.
“Here out of this enigmatic, extraordinarily rare animal we have made a discovery that could greatly benefit human health.”
The snake can grow up to two metres long and its venom glands can reach 60 centimetres.
It has a fondness for eating young king cobra snakes and because it feeds on other venomous snakes which are capable of profound retaliation, it needs to be able to immobilise its prey almost instantly.
Therefore the long-glanded blue coral snake has developed venom which administers a “lightning strike electrical spasm throughout the body,” Dr Fry said.
Like scorpions it causes its prey to completely spasm.
The study, published this month in the journal Toxin, reveals how it achieves such a feat. The venom of the blue coral snake contains a number of unusual peptides that switch on all of its victim’s nerves at once, causing it to become instantly paralysed.
So what does this have to do with human health?
According to Dr Fry it works to act on a particular type of sodium channel that is important for the treatment of pain in humans.
“Where it’s acting is on sites that are extremely important for pain,” he said, and the insights gained from how the venom works could yield important medicinal developments.
“Even if it doesn’t itself become a drug, which it still may, it already immediately teaches us about how those channels work which means we have more data for drug design,” he said.
“No matter what we’ve gained a massive amount of new knowledge about how these channels work.”
For Dr Fry the study is also a lesson in the importance of conservation. While he likes to search out the most unique and venomous creatures on the planet for what they can potentially teach us about human health, the declining biodiversity of our environment means it’s an increasingly difficult task.
Like plenty of other species, the long-glanded blue coral snake faces a tough and uncertain future.
“It’s an incredibly rare snake and it’s becoming only rarer,” he said. Because the big monsoonal forest in southeast Asia which it calls home “are being wiped out at an absolutely shocking rate”.
Not the same as our normal snake articles collected, this looks like a very positive snake venom… If this treatment for pain can be utilised we might even find it in first aid kits and teaching the information on how to use the venom in first aid courses around Australia, Canberra and even the world. Make sure you book in to a first aid course in Canberra soon so that you are prepared for any first aid incidents that occur near you this summer.
Police officer Jason Short thought he was about to save a life.
After receiving a 911 call to reports of a baby left alone in a hot car, the officer rushed to the Walmart car park in Keene.
He spotted the baby, wrapped in a blanket with a bottle next to it and immediately smashed the window to rescue her.
But he quickly noticed that she was motionless and began performing CPR on her after calling an ambulance.
He told WMUR-TV: ‘I went to put my finger in its mouth and it was all resistance. And I’m like, “This is a doll.”‘
It turns out the doll belonged to Carolynne Seiffert, who has been using lifelike dolls as a coping mechanism ever since her son died from Hunter’s disease in 2005.
Seiffert, who named the $2,000 (£1,531) doll Ainsley, told the channel: ‘I’ve been laughed at and embarrassed by all the fuss. You can’t know how people choose to deal with their losses in life.’
Life-like dolls are known as reborn dolls that can be sold for anywhere between $30 and thousands of dollars.
They’re made to look life-like by substituting plastic eyes for glass eyes and either hand-implanted mohair or human hair.
Keene police chief, Brian Costa, has offered to pay $300 to fix Seiffert’s window.
He said: ‘If all indications are that a baby is in a car in upward of well over 90-degree weather, officers will break car windows.’
Short said: ‘I would never assume that it’s a doll. I would always assume that it’s a child. I would never do anything different.’
Great work by the officer, you have t always assume in this situation that the doll was a child. Make sure you book in to a first aid course in Canberra with us at Canberra First Aid and Training. Also check out or facebook page Canberra First Aid and Training. We will teach you all of the first aid skills required to help in an emergency.
A group of station owners and Indigenous community members in the Mid West have battled heat and flies on a remote sheep station to learn how to save lives.
They were bussed in to Gabyon sheep station, about 35 kilometres south of Yalgoo, to take part in a first aid course run by St John Ambulance.
Local paramedic Blair Bayens said the choice of location was an important element of the course.
“It was conducted in the middle of the bush so it was relevant to our local Indigenous [people] and station owners,” he said.
“It wasn’t a plastic environment, we sort of tried to recreate the same type of location, I guess, as to where these people are living.”
Mr Bayens said participants were given crucial first aid skills, which hopefully could be passed on to others.
“Everyone passed [the course],we had some first aid mannequins for them to take home with them so they can show their children how to do CPR,” he said.
A similar course was held in Mount Magnet
Communities reaping benefits of courses
Mr Bayens said recent history had shown the value of such courses in the regional areas.
“We’ve actually seen it on the ground first-hand the impact that it’s making on the community,” he said.
“In the past twelve months we’ve seen people placed in the recovery position prior to the ambulance arrival, basic first aid, wound-dressing, stemming of bleeding and things like that,” he said.
Four participants of the Yalgoo course plan to go on to complete their ambulance officer volunteer course to become members of the Yalgoo ambulance service, while two young indigenous women have been selected for a new ambulance officer youth cadet program for country WA.
Shannon Simpson and Katie Flannagan, both 16, said they wanted to help their community, and hoped to one day go on to be paramedics.
St John Ambulance WA Mid West regional manager Lynne Hunt said the course was part of the Aboriginal Ambulance Project, which allowed Indigenous community members to attend the course for free.
She said people should contact St John Ambulance if they were interested in taking part in a first aid course.
“If a group of community members in any part of the Mid West are interested in learning first aid, we are willing to go to any number of remote locations to deliver these important lifesaving skills to the community,” she said.
Great work from St Johsn heading out to these remote parts, I wish we could do this. Make sure you learn all of the first aid skills you need in an accredited first aid course. At Canberra First Aid we can offer you a great training package in one of our first aid courses at a good price so book in now.
Reported by Haydee | 06:08pm, Wednesday 19 October, 2016
Workplace incidents can happen anytime. Its impact to the business, workers and community can be devastating so getting ready for the unexpected is always ideal.
According to recent statistics, around 117 Australian workers have been killed at work this year. Unfortunately, only 13 percent of organisations are confident they can use their first aid training to act decisively in case needed.
St John Ambulance Australia is calling on business leaders to join the events for the National Safe Work Month and ensure that their procedures and employees are up-to-date with their first aid skills.
“Managers need to be aware of their responsibilities when it comes to the safety of their employees, contractors and other people in the workplace,” said St John Ambulance Queensland CEO Alex Hutton.
“Workplace safety undoubtedly becomes a larger issue as a company grows and it is necessary and essential for managers to assess their operations regularly.
“Many organisations focus on increasing their efficiency but to do that completely they need to look at more than just their bottom-line, they also need to maintain workplace safety, so their staff is ready for the unexpected, risks are minimised, and people have a safe workplace.”
Mr Hutton said that many companies are not up-to-date on their first aid training skills.
“It’s disturbing and quite scary, knowing 85% of the Australian workforce has a knowledge gap this serious,” he said. “Many people head to work each day and take their return home safely for granted.
“The reality is an estimated 117 Australian workers have been killed at work this year, and each one of this could have been prevented in as little as five minutes if the right training and first aid skills were readily available during that person’s work activity.
“Every person deserves to go home safely at the end of each day; safety should be the number one efficiency in every workplace, and it will put business leaders at ease knowing their employees are prepared for the worst case scenario.
“There’s nothing worse than knowing you could have done something to help if you knew what to do.”
Some statistics that you might not have been aware of from St Johns. We need to improve these statistics across Australia and Canberra and the only way to do that is by getting our employees trained in a first aid course. Canberra First Aid can offer you a great first aid course in Canberra at a fraction of the cost of other providers. We give everyone a free first aid manual when they ycomplete their first aid course with us and we also provide you with a cpr first aid course mask.
JENNY Mulder should be dead. Instead, she owes her life to a “mechanical plunger” that pounded her chest for 57 minutes, keeping her heart beating — and her alive.
The 65-year-old went into cardiac arrest while in the emergency department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital but luckily for her, the hospital was equipped with a LUCAS machine, which performs CPR at 100 pumps per minute.
The machine, which is also installed in six rapid response ambulances in the Sydney CBD, is part of a new clinical trial between St Vincent’s Hospital, RPA Hospital and NSW Ambulance.
“It’s the concept of people who (we) previously said ‘no, they have died, we can’t actually bring them back’, to now where we can bring them back.”
The LUCAS machine, combined with a second device called an extracorpor-eal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), have been hailed as the future of CPR and cardiology treatment.
The ECMO replaces heart and lung function for up to weeks at a time.
The combination of the two machines buys doctors crucial time to diagnose and treat the underlying cause of the cardiac arrest, and also gives the heart time to recover.
Since February the devices have also been installed in six CBD ambulances.
Of the 30,000 Australians who suffer a sudden cardiac arrest each year fewer than 10 per cent survive, with 95 per cent of victims dying before they reach hospital.
The trial is expected to involve 25 patients over two years, and is modelled on a similar trial in Melbourne which increased survival rates for refractory cardiac arrests from 5 per cent to 50 per cent.
Paramedics and doctors will only use LUCAS on patients who are under 70 and have had some CPR performed before paramedics arrive.
The cardiac arrest also needs to have been no more than 60 minutes old, been witnessed, and been caused by a cardiac issue and not something else.
“It is a very aggressive and experimental approach to a very complicated problem,” RPA cardiologist Associate Professor Paul Forrest said.
We think if we can demonstrate that there is a survival rate of between 40-50 per cent that’s a huge improvement on what is currently achievable. It is a trial but the preliminary results are very encouraging.”
Mrs Mulder was this week reunited with paramedic Brett Simpson, one of the four paramedics who arrived at her Glebe house after she suffered a heart attack in April.
After being taken to RPA, Mrs Mulder went into cardiac arrest. Mr Simpson began CPR and shortly after, the LUCAS machine was strapped on Mrs Mulder. It was then Mr Simpson witnessed something which is almost science fiction.
“Maybe four or five times we actually stopped everything because you were waking up and your arms were grabbing at the machine,” Mr Simpson told Mrs Mulder.
“Blood was going to the brain almost too well.
“We were like ‘crap, she’s waking up again’.”
Traditional CPR increases a patient’s blood flow to the point they are barely surviving. Mr Simpson said people should be unconscious during cardiac arrest because there is very little blood pressure.
“This LUCAS machine was actually giving you enough blood pressure — and it was perfusing your brain enough — that you are actually waking up when your heart was not beating,” Mr Simpson said
“That is how good these machines are.
“The best CPR that you can muster only manages a blood pressure of about 40 or 50, which at that point is barely enough to be perfusing the brain or internal organs.
“For a person to come from no blood pressure, as Jenny had, to then become awake her blood pressure would have had to have been about 80 or 90, which is physically impossible with regular CPR.”
Mrs Mulder was then taken to the intensive care unit where she was placed on an ECMO machine for 24 hours. She left the hospital nine days later fully recovered.
Dr Forest said Mrs Mulder could not have been any closer to death.
“It is pretty dramatic in the sense that you’ve got people who would almost certainly die otherwise can be brought back. It was an absolutely spectacular result,” he said.
The LUCAS was conceived in 1991 by a Norwegian paramedic and has been in UK and European hospitals since 2006.
Mr Simpson said the LUCAS could be revolutionary for the ambulance service in NSW.
“We have had it ingrained in us from day one this is how you do cardiac arrest and CPR,” he said. “Now all of a sudden that is being flipped on its head with LUCAS. Quite often, out of hospital, we will run a cardiac arrest with four people and everyone has a role to play. Now in the same situation we have an extra person.”
Mrs Mulder said she had been ready for death, with the last thing she remembered seeing the bright lights of the defibrillators.
“I feel that life now is just another door that closes,” the mother-of-one said.
“Everything is OK when you leave. You take a lot of what you carry with you. You leave a lot behind and it is just a beautiful feeling.
“The fear of dying is not there any more. It is just another door that you pass through. I reached a point, when the ambulance came through, that I do not have any resources to know what to do now. I had to completely surrender so I just let go.
“I don’t want to just thank the robot, but it performed miracles. The doctor said that years ago I would not have survived. So to have that facility is amazing. I feel lucky just to be alive.”
Her incredible recovery is not isolated.
Jean-Paul Nicolazo, 69, was dropping his two-year-old granddaughter at daycare in Centennial Park on April 5 when he had a cardiac arrest.
Three people, including his 37-year-old son Olivier, performed CPR on him before paramedics put him on the LUCAS machine.
The Parisian was in cardiac arrest for 60 minutes, but Dr David Roy and his team at St Vincent’s Hospital staff were able to bring him back to life. He has made a full recovery.
In another case on April 1, French tourist Eric Bruyer, 49, went into cardiac arrest while staying at the Novotel in Darling Harbour.
His 10-year-old son Max raised the alarm and wife Katty Valpromy, 41, performed CPR before paramedics arrived and put him on the LUCAS.
Despite 50 minutes of cardiac arrest, Mr Bruyer made a full recovery.
“I felt like I was seeing myself from above as if I was floating above my body,” Mr Bruyer said from his home in New Caledonia.
“Thank you to all the staff for saving my life.”
Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the technology looks promising, with the hope of rolling it out across the state.
BEFORE:
■ Paramedic-generated CPR on patients while they are being transported by ambulance, which is inferior to CPR done by the LUCAS machine.
■ No transfer of cardiac arrest patients within hospital to the Catheterization (cath) lab, where crucial heart diagnostics can be done.
■ Mandatory 20 minutes of CPR done at the scene by paramedics; only then would living patients be transported to hospital. Vital time is lost.
Result: Most people died in the field.
NOW:
■ LUCAS machine gives perfect CPR at 100 strokes per minute, regardless if patients are in motion or stationary.
■ Cardiac arrest patients transported to hospital immediately (no 20-minute delay)
■ CPR can now be done while other treatments/tests are being carried out. Previously this was impossible because a person had to be manually giving the CPR.
Result: Combined with ECMO, patients have a greater chance of survival.
Wow what a device in CPR first aid. We look forward to seeing the benefits this machine will hopefully have in society in the future. Make sure you book in to a Canberra first aid course before summer so that you can help out in an emergency. We provide first aid courses to the public and also private courses where we come to your venue.
