Bullsbrook parents and carers all set to save lives
Royal Life Saving WA encourages all West Australian parents and carers with young children to learn vital first aid and CPR skills, to ensure they are adequately prepared to respond should their child drown or stop breathing. Statistics show that over the past ten years, in 80% of drowning cases involving children aged 0-14, it was a direct family member who discovered the drowning victim and attempted resuscitation.
Royal Life Saving WA’s Heart Beat Club community education course is designed to teach parents and carers of children under the age of five the basic skills they need to perform first aid and CPR for common childhood injuries. The three-hour session covers child and infant CPR and first aid for incidents such as choking, poisoning and burns.
We understand that for some parents attending a first aid course is an expense they simply can’t afford, so each year, thanks to funding from the Department of Health, we provide free courses for high-risk parents and carers – including those who are Aboriginal, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, Low socio-economic status and Adolescent parents – through the Heart Beat Club Grants program. The goal is to increase their capacity to respond in an emergency and ultimately reduce the number of fatal drownings and serious drowning-related injuries in children under five years in our state.
Recently a Heart Beat Club course was offered for free in Bullsbrook as part of this grants program. The course was organised by Meerilinga and presented by Royal Life Saving WA Trainer Nicole Durrant.
12 parents and carers attended, including two dads, and a grandmother who had asked the organiser about the possibility of conducting a CPR course targeted at grandparents. The grandmother attended this Heart Beat Club course with her granddaughter and they both thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot!
Heart Beat Club classes enable the course to be a little more flexible, with parents allowed to bring children into the room if they need to. This takes the pressure off for those who would otherwise feel unable to take part in learning such important skills because they can’t find alternative care for their children.
Royal Life Saving WA looks forward to working with more community organisations to assist in sharing these vital skills with parents and carers right across WA. If you would like more information on how your community group can get involved, please click the link below.
