KINGSTON, Jamaica–October 24th, 2020–The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) is advising members of the public, particularly those trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to observe the changes in guidelines when administering the procedure in the coronavirus (COVID-19) era.
Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Thursday (October 22) to mark CPR Week, Director of Emergency Cardiac Care at the HFJ, Dr. Hugh Mark Wong, explained that the changes have come about because of the need to protect persons from being infected with COVID-19.
“The SARS CoV2 virus is so infectious we have had to modify how we approach someone who loses their pulse or collapses,” he said.
“The first thing we must recognize is that the person who is assisting is at risk of getting infection from the patient if they are suspected or confirmed with COVID. Within community spread everybody is suspected,” he noted.
Dr. Wong, who is also head of the Accident and Emergency Department at the Kingston Public Hospital, pointed out that whereas personal protective equipment (PPE) is available in healthcare facilities, the layperson does not generally have PPE, so one has to do certain maneuvers to reduce the risk of infection.
The Heart Foundation of Jamaica is advising members of the public, particularly those trained in CPR to observe the changes in guidelines when administering the procedure in the coronavirus era.
Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Thursday to mark CPR Week, Director of Emergency Cardiac Care at the HFJ, Dr. Hugh Mark Wong, explained that the changes have come about because of the need to protect persons from being infected with COVID-19.
“The SARS CoV2 virus is so infectious we have had to modify how we approach someone who loses their pulse or collapses,” he said.
“The first thing we must recognize is that the person who is assisting is at risk of getting infection from the [patient] if they are suspected or confirmed with COVID. Within community spread everybody is suspected,” he noted.
Dr. Wong, who is also head of the Accident and Emergency Department at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), pointed out that whereas personal protective equipment (PPE) is available in healthcare facilities, the layperson does not generally have PPE, so one has to do certain maneuvers to reduce the risk of infection.
“After performing compressions-only CPR and the victim is no longer in danger or has been moved, then we should continue our infection prevention mechanisms by washing our hands and using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel if there is no soap and water available,” he noted.
CPR Week is being observed from October 26 to 31 under the theme ‘Surviving with CPR’.
