PIMA provides life support training to public in mosques

Islamabad: Under the ‘Lifesavers project’ of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), doctors provided Basic Life Support (BLS) training in as many as 48 mosques in 16 cities of Punjab, KPK, Sindh and Azad Kashmir on Saturday.

The general public was taught basics of emergency care, BLS training, in mosques across Pakistan, which is the first life saving measure for persons suffering sudden cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Project in charge Dr. Abdul Aziz Memon said that the majority of the cardiac arrests happen away from hospital facilities and many lives can be saved with simple Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). This is a procedure to maintain heart activity, circulation of blood and respiration in an affected person while he is being transferred to proper hospital facility. It is easy to learn even by ordinary persons with no medical knowledge.

He added that this lifesaving project first initiated on a large scale by British Islamic Medical Association, was later adopted by all doctors associations affiliated with the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA). This activity was held today at masajid in Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Malawi and Zimbabwe on the occasion of international heart day.

PIMA arranged these training sessions in 16 cities of Punjab, KPK, Sindh and Azad Kashmir today. In all, thousands of people benefited from BLS sessions at six places in Karachi, four each in Lahore, Multan, Sialkot and Rawalpindi, three each in Okara, Dera Ghazi Khan, two each in Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sukkur and Shikarpur, and total of eight places in KPK and one each at Faisalabad, Islamabad and Khairpur.

It is expected that many more such sessions will be needed once this pilot project concludes, to educate masses across the country, said Dr. Memon.