Locals take CPR course to heart

By Callan Date
KNOWING CPR saves lives and now 28 locals have the ability to do just that.
The keen participants travelled from all over Cardinia Shire to take part in specially run cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses conducted by the Australian Red Cross, with support from Star News Group and Cardinia Shire Council.
In three separate sessions last month, volunteers learnt CPR skills and were also taught how to use an external defibrillator unit to restore a regular heart rhythm.
Pakenham Red Cross secretary Meryl Waterhouse said the group was pleased with the response to the CPR courses and hoped more local sessions would be conducted in the future.
“There are 28 more people in the area who now know CPR. Those people didn’t know what to do before they attended these sessions,” Ms Waterhouse said.
The local Red Cross volunteer said people from a variety of backgrounds attended the courses over the three nights.
“There was a mixture of people. Several couples attended the course together as well as people who wanted to learn because of their work,” she said.
Ms Waterhouse, who also completed one of the courses as a refresher, said it was comforting to know there were now nearly 30 more people in the community who would know what to do in an emergency situation.
“I would love to see the courses happen in Pakenham on a regular basis, maybe quarterly,” she said.
Course participants David and Jan Drinkwater spoke glowingly of the course that taught them how to potentially save someone’s life.
“You don’t know when you may be required to help someone out and I now feel very confident in my ability to administer CPR,” Mr Drinkwater said.
A Pakenham resident, he said the course was well conducted and he came away from the lesson with an extremely positive feeling.
“In this day and age you never know when you may be required to assist someone in trouble,” he said.