The good news is that free CPR training is now available. The Irish Heart Foundation’s goal is to train 100,000 people across Ireland in this skill over the next two years.
Irish Country Living talks to farmers who took part in the Hands for Life course when it was run in Enniscorthy. It was organised by Alice Doyle, Irish Farmers Association (IFA) Farm Family Committee chair in Co Wexford.
The statistics are stark. Every day in Ireland, 13 people die due to cardiac arrest. Around 70% of these deaths happen at home in front of a loved one. However, in situations where there is someone trained in CPR and can start chest compressions quickly a person’s chances of survival may be doubled or tripled.
The most recent dramatic example of lifesaving with CPR was where nurse Aoife McGivney saved a bus driver’s life in Dublin. On the way to work by bus, she suddenly realised the driver was unwell and saved the day – and a life – by performing CPR on an O’Connell Street footpath.
“I was lucky enough to know what to do in the situation and my training kicked in instinctively,” she said speaking at the launch of this programme. She hopes that many people will be inspired to do the course.
“I know first hand how important it is to know CPR and that it can be the difference between life and death.”
Sarah Cain, resuscitation operations co-ordinator with the Irish Heart Foundation is personally aware of how badly needed such training is, too. From a farming background in New Zealand, she remembers someone on their sheep farm dying because fast response wasn’t possible.
Alice Doyle, chair of Wexford IFA Farm Family Committee, getting her blood pressure checked by nurse Lorna Doyle at the Wexford IFA Farm Family Day. \ John Walsh
“In rural areas of Ireland it can take a while for ambulances to arrive too so knowing CPR is of real benefit.”
The person’s chances of survival go down by 10% every minute following cardiac arrest if CPR is not performed, she says.
“That’s why we need people locally who are able to instigate the chain of survival. Taking time to do the training can be so beneficial.”
Know your Eircode
Feedback to the one-hour course has been very positive so far, she says, and attendees are surprised at just how much training can fit into one hour. As well as teaching attendees how to recognise a cardiac arrest and do compressions, those enrolling are also taught how to use an AED (automated external defibrillator), how to respond to a choking emergency and how to recognise a stroke.
“The course is great because people are talked through doing the CPR as if they were really talking to the ambulance control centre in a real emergency. They also learn the importance of knowing their Eircode by heart or having it somewhere handy as it will help the ambulance to find them quicker.”
The difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest
Hands For Life attendees also learn the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest. Here’s how you know:
With a heart attack, the person usually has a pulse, is breathing and can respond to questions. With cardiac arrest, the person has no pulse, is not breathing and is unresponsive. Although a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest, they are very different emergencies.Running a course in your area
This is how Wexford IFA did it, explains Alice Doyle.
“Back in February the Irish Heart Foundation came in to talk to the Farm Family Committee about the new initiative. We thought it is something we need in rural communities and particularly in farming areas, so we decided to run the course in the Farm Centre in Enniscorthy in April.”
Knowing how to do CPR is very important because we have less doctors now in rural areas, Alice says.
Peggy Hendrick, Lorna Butler, Dympna Kelly, Mary Sheehan and Mary Kelly at the CPR training day. \ John Walsh
“If you have a cardiac arrest, you have to wait for an ambulance now and CPR could keep a person alive until the ambulance gets there. More than ever we need to help ourselves in rural Ireland by learning these kinds of skills.
“Many farmers live on their own and in isolated places so it is important that someone in each area knows how to do CPR.”
The course was set up fast to take advantage of an April post-calving and lambing/pre-silage window.
“You can’t get people in when they are busy so you have to time the course well,” Alice adds. “We publicised the course on local media and through the IFA and ran three sessions on the one day – at 11am, 3pm and 7.30pm to catch people at different times. We were delighted that some couples came together too.”
While the course is a basic level one, it is very important, she says.
“You get one hour’s instruction and it’s very realistic. You have to interact with the emergency station recording as you practice the compressions.”
Ninety-nine people were trained in Enniscorthy that day.
“I would encourage everyone to do the course,” she says, “and to organise the course in their area if there isn’t one, and for people to attend for refresher courses too as you can forget. It’s a good social event too, getting out to meet other people.”
Attendees also learned how to use a defibrillator. “It’s taken the fear out of taking the machine off the wall,” she says.
“I thought you had to be trained to use one but it actually tells you what to do.”
Blood pressure and blood sugar checks were also offered the same day in Enniscorthy by arrangement with the Irish Heart Foundation.
Reader’s experience
Mary Sheehan is a farmer and secretary of the Askmore branch of IFA. She has to watch the heart, she says, as both her parents have had major heart surgery. She also felt driven to do the course after witnessing a tragic incident at a mart.
“I was in the mart one day and a man passed away due to cardiac arrest. They did CPR but unfortunately he didn’t survive. I did a CPR course myself after that experience, but this recent one was as a refresher as you need to keep the skills up.”
Mary found listening to the 999 control centre voice reassuring.
“The control centre person is talking you through the compressions and this helps to relax you. We realised when we were practising with the mannequin that we have to listen to the person on the phone, that they are keeping us calm.”
Mary found the defibrillator lesson easy. “The machine does it itself. Being a farmer I’m not afraid of machines and I’m used to resuscitating calves and so on, but it was good to do a course that could help humans. In my opinion, the Hands for Life course should be taught in schools from transition year on.”
A couple's experience
Martin and Mary Ryan also did the course. “The minute we got the text we latched on to it straight away and we told other people about it,” Martin says.
“We wanted to do it in case anything happened to either of us, so that the other would know what to do to help. We live on our own here and it was always on our minds to know what to do and how to react.
“We were really impressed with the course, the simplicity of it – you had to get down on the floor and do it. The point is that what you simply do – without panicking – is react and you do it whether it’s going to work out or not. At least you haven’t a conscience after that that you didn’t do anything or didn’t know what to do. That was the motivation for us really.”
It’s important that couples learn the skills, he says. “There weren’t so many men attending, but you really both need to do it so that you could help one another in an emergency situation.”
Martin has a suggestion to make, however. “The control centre should take a number for a neighbour from you during all this, though. That would mean they could come to help you do the compressions or get the defibrillator in the village and bring it to you. I was told they don’t do that, but I made the suggestion anyway.”
Martin would encourage everyone to do the course. “It’s only an hour and it could save a life.”
The programme
The Irish Heart Foundation programme is being supported by Abbott and ESB Networks.
Communities, groups and clubs who have 30 or more people interested in a free Hands for Life training course can contact the Irish Heart Foundation directly on 01-668-5001 or handsforlife@irishheart.ie to arrange a training course in their locality.
CPR – The Four Steps for Survival
1 If you see a person suddenly collapse, check for a response. Call their name and shake them gently on the shoulder.
2 If there is no response call 112 or 999 immediately to get help on the way.
3 If the person is still not responding and is not breathing normally, then make sure the person is lying flat on their back on the ground. Kneel close beside them and place your two hands on the centre of their chest in line with their nipples, one on top of the other, and keep your arms straight.
4 Start compressions. Push hard and fast. Push down at least five centimetres or two inches and push at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute. The Bee Gees song Stayin’ Alive is the perfect CPR rhythm. Keep going until the emergency services arrive.
CPR – Handy Tips
Put your phone on loudspeaker.Know your EircodeAlways remember, you can do no harm by starting CPR.
The good news is that free CPR training is now available. The Irish Heart Foundation’s goal is to train 100,000 people across Ireland in this skill over the next two years.
Irish Country Living talks to farmers who took part in the Hands for Life course when it was run in Enniscorthy. It was organised by Alice Doyle, Irish Farmers Association (IFA) Farm Family Committee chair in Co Wexford.
The statistics are stark. Every day in Ireland, 13 people die due to cardiac arrest. Around 70% of these deaths happen at home in front of a loved one. However, in situations where there is someone trained in CPR and can start chest compressions quickly a person’s chances of survival may be doubled or tripled.
The most recent dramatic example of lifesaving with CPR was where nurse Aoife McGivney saved a bus driver’s life in Dublin. On the way to work by bus, she suddenly realised the driver was unwell and saved the day – and a life – by performing CPR on an O’Connell Street footpath.
“I was lucky enough to know what to do in the situation and my training kicked in instinctively,” she said speaking at the launch of this programme. She hopes that many people will be inspired to do the course.
“I know first hand how important it is to know CPR and that it can be the difference between life and death.”
Sarah Cain, resuscitation operations co-ordinator with the Irish Heart Foundation is personally aware of how badly needed such training is, too. From a farming background in New Zealand, she remembers someone on their sheep farm dying because fast response wasn’t possible.
Alice Doyle, chair of Wexford IFA Farm Family Committee, getting her blood pressure checked by nurse Lorna Doyle at the Wexford IFA Farm Family Day. \ John Walsh
“In rural areas of Ireland it can take a while for ambulances to arrive too so knowing CPR is of real benefit.”
The person’s chances of survival go down by 10% every minute following cardiac arrest if CPR is not performed, she says.
“That’s why we need people locally who are able to instigate the chain of survival. Taking time to do the training can be so beneficial.”
Know your Eircode
Feedback to the one-hour course has been very positive so far, she says, and attendees are surprised at just how much training can fit into one hour. As well as teaching attendees how to recognise a cardiac arrest and do compressions, those enrolling are also taught how to use an AED (automated external defibrillator), how to respond to a choking emergency and how to recognise a stroke.
“The course is great because people are talked through doing the CPR as if they were really talking to the ambulance control centre in a real emergency. They also learn the importance of knowing their Eircode by heart or having it somewhere handy as it will help the ambulance to find them quicker.”
The difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest
Hands For Life attendees also learn the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest. Here’s how you know:
With a heart attack, the person usually has a pulse, is breathing and can respond to questions. With cardiac arrest, the person has no pulse, is not breathing and is unresponsive. Although a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest, they are very different emergencies.Running a course in your area
This is how Wexford IFA did it, explains Alice Doyle.
“Back in February the Irish Heart Foundation came in to talk to the Farm Family Committee about the new initiative. We thought it is something we need in rural communities and particularly in farming areas, so we decided to run the course in the Farm Centre in Enniscorthy in April.”
Knowing how to do CPR is very important because we have less doctors now in rural areas, Alice says.
Peggy Hendrick, Lorna Butler, Dympna Kelly, Mary Sheehan and Mary Kelly at the CPR training day. \ John Walsh
“If you have a cardiac arrest, you have to wait for an ambulance now and CPR could keep a person alive until the ambulance gets there. More than ever we need to help ourselves in rural Ireland by learning these kinds of skills.
“Many farmers live on their own and in isolated places so it is important that someone in each area knows how to do CPR.”
The course was set up fast to take advantage of an April post-calving and lambing/pre-silage window.
“You can’t get people in when they are busy so you have to time the course well,” Alice adds. “We publicised the course on local media and through the IFA and ran three sessions on the one day – at 11am, 3pm and 7.30pm to catch people at different times. We were delighted that some couples came together too.”
While the course is a basic level one, it is very important, she says.
“You get one hour’s instruction and it’s very realistic. You have to interact with the emergency station recording as you practice the compressions.”
Ninety-nine people were trained in Enniscorthy that day.
“I would encourage everyone to do the course,” she says, “and to organise the course in their area if there isn’t one, and for people to attend for refresher courses too as you can forget. It’s a good social event too, getting out to meet other people.”
Attendees also learned how to use a defibrillator. “It’s taken the fear out of taking the machine off the wall,” she says.
“I thought you had to be trained to use one but it actually tells you what to do.”
Blood pressure and blood sugar checks were also offered the same day in Enniscorthy by arrangement with the Irish Heart Foundation.
Reader’s experience
Mary Sheehan is a farmer and secretary of the Askmore branch of IFA. She has to watch the heart, she says, as both her parents have had major heart surgery. She also felt driven to do the course after witnessing a tragic incident at a mart.
“I was in the mart one day and a man passed away due to cardiac arrest. They did CPR but unfortunately he didn’t survive. I did a CPR course myself after that experience, but this recent one was as a refresher as you need to keep the skills up.”
Mary found listening to the 999 control centre voice reassuring.
“The control centre person is talking you through the compressions and this helps to relax you. We realised when we were practising with the mannequin that we have to listen to the person on the phone, that they are keeping us calm.”
Mary found the defibrillator lesson easy. “The machine does it itself. Being a farmer I’m not afraid of machines and I’m used to resuscitating calves and so on, but it was good to do a course that could help humans. In my opinion, the Hands for Life course should be taught in schools from transition year on.”
A couple's experience
Martin and Mary Ryan also did the course. “The minute we got the text we latched on to it straight away and we told other people about it,” Martin says.
“We wanted to do it in case anything happened to either of us, so that the other would know what to do to help. We live on our own here and it was always on our minds to know what to do and how to react.
“We were really impressed with the course, the simplicity of it – you had to get down on the floor and do it. The point is that what you simply do – without panicking – is react and you do it whether it’s going to work out or not. At least you haven’t a conscience after that that you didn’t do anything or didn’t know what to do. That was the motivation for us really.”
It’s important that couples learn the skills, he says. “There weren’t so many men attending, but you really both need to do it so that you could help one another in an emergency situation.”
Martin has a suggestion to make, however. “The control centre should take a number for a neighbour from you during all this, though. That would mean they could come to help you do the compressions or get the defibrillator in the village and bring it to you. I was told they don’t do that, but I made the suggestion anyway.”
Martin would encourage everyone to do the course. “It’s only an hour and it could save a life.”
The programme
The Irish Heart Foundation programme is being supported by Abbott and ESB Networks.
Communities, groups and clubs who have 30 or more people interested in a free Hands for Life training course can contact the Irish Heart Foundation directly on 01-668-5001 or handsforlife@irishheart.ie to arrange a training course in their locality.
CPR – The Four Steps for Survival
1 If you see a person suddenly collapse, check for a response. Call their name and shake them gently on the shoulder.
2 If there is no response call 112 or 999 immediately to get help on the way.
3 If the person is still not responding and is not breathing normally, then make sure the person is lying flat on their back on the ground. Kneel close beside them and place your two hands on the centre of their chest in line with their nipples, one on top of the other, and keep your arms straight.
4 Start compressions. Push hard and fast. Push down at least five centimetres or two inches and push at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute. The Bee Gees song Stayin’ Alive is the perfect CPR rhythm. Keep going until the emergency services arrive.
CPR – Handy Tips
Put your phone on loudspeaker.Know your EircodeAlways remember, you can do no harm by starting CPR. 
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