Multicultural mums learn vital first aid skills

21 multicultural participants from the Edmund Rice Centre took part in a highly successful Heart Beat Club session recently.

At these informative and instructional sessions, all the eager parents learnt basic yet vital first aid and CPR skills, enabling them with the applicable knowledge to save a life in case of an emergency.

Royals Inclusion Coordinator, Emily Balcombe, remarked on the day "We often find that newly arrived refugees or people from a CaLD background often come to Australia without any knowledge on CPR or First Aid when it is required. We at The Society are endeavouring to work with different cultures in WA and provide community members with the knowledge required to save a life in case of an emergency.”

Heart Beat Club is a child safety education program designed to teach parents and carers of children the skills to provide first aid and resuscitation to babies and toddlers in and around the home or when around water.

Approximately 55 children between the ages of 0-5 drown annually in Australia alone; an average of one child per week. Young lives are unfortunately lost in pools, fish ponds, baths, sinks and even nappy buckets. These parents are now equipped to save their children's lives thanks to the skills learned in the three-hour Heart Beat Club course.

Often newly arrived migrants or people born overseas are unfamiliar with the risks associated with water or other injuries that occur, which is why The Royals are actively working with and educating multicultural groups and inspiring them to participate in providing cost-effective courses.

The Royal Life Saving Society WA encourages all organisations, child care centres and multicultural groups to run a Heart Beat Club Session. For more information on our upcoming Heart Beat Clubs and how you can be involved, please click the link below.