SOLDIERS joining the Singapore Armed Forces from next year will
be given life-saving lessons to help out in medical
emergencies.
All 20,000 recruits taken in every year will be taught to
perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to manually revive a
person with breathing problems or a heart attack.
They will also learn how to operate an automated external
defibrillator (AED), a machine which can jump-start the heart by
evaluating its rhythm and jolting it into action again with an
electric current.
The SAF has asked commercial companies to propose how they would
hold half-day classes for soldiers and at what cost. The closing
date for this request, which was issued last month, has now since
passed.
At present, SAF officers, specialists and medical personnel are
given such training. Extending it to all recruits would mean that
the entire force is equipped to handle such emergencies.
Defence Ministry spokesman Darius Lim said the move is part of
the SAF's plan to modernise its medical corps, and the training
will 'enhance the proficiency of servicemen when rendering first
aid'.
Doctors interviewed told The Straits Times that Mindef's moves
would increase the survival chances of a soldier who suffers
cardiac arrest while training.
They said a delay of every minute reduces a person's chances of
survival by 7 per cent to 10 per cent.
Since 1995, at least seven full-time national servicemen (NSFs)
have died as a result of cardiac arrest.
In 2003, army medics began carrying AEDs to all strenuous
training activities that carry the risk of drowning or heart
trauma.
