Monday, October 22, 2007

Life savers

A Melbourne cemetery has come up with a life saving idea - making sure its cemetery staff are trained in the use of defibrillators (and first aid). This move comes in response to the mourners who collapse at the grave side - not an uncommon occurrence. As Vicki Pridmore, chief executive of Melbourne's Cheltenham cemeteries is quoted "A lot of people who die are old, so the people who come to the services are frail and they are vulnerable anyway, and the additional stress of a funeral tips them over the edge." They call the ambulance four or five times a year and as well as being used to deliver an electric pulse to restore regular rhythm (something we are all clear on) the defibrillators can also help assess illness for arriving paramedics.

No comments: