The Malta Resuscitation Council has just launched an illustrated book titled Call 112 Fibrillu, in its efforts to facilitate access to educational material on basic life support skills for schoolchildren. A copy of the publication was presented to Education Minister Clifton Grima.
The book presents the story of Katrina and Fibrillu, who during an outing in the capital city, come across a person who feels unwell and their successful actions to save their life.
The publication is available in both Maltese and English, and is illustrated in a way that offers a simple, stepwise approach to basic life support skills. Among others, it shows how to promptly recognise when a person stops breathing, how to summon help and how to buy time by doing effective chest compressions.
The project was the brainchild of Dr Velitchka Schembri Agius, herself a resuscitation trainer and member of the Resuscitation Council, who penned the book alongside illustrator Clyde Haber. The publication was sponsored by the Malta Resuscitation Council.
Call 112 Fibrillu will be available in printed and digital format on all educational tablets in schools and is meant to be a supporting tool to the work being done by the Health and Safety Unit at the Education Department. Members of this unit have qualified as resuscitation instructors themselves and embarked on a project to instruct both teachers and Year 8 students across all public colleges.
During the last scholastic year, 2,622 middle schoolchildren have been trained, as well as 1,133 teachers. The Malta Resuscitation Council commended strengthening the Health and Safety Unit with more human resources while pledging to its support in expertise and equipment.
Achievements to date
The Malta Resuscitation Council has trained and supported the Health and Safety Unit with the Education Department to deliver CPR training in schools.
▪ 54 schools are projected to be reached in 2024;
▪ All schools are equipped with an AED;
▪ 9 schools received training in 2022/23.
Introducing CPR training in the national curriculum
Despite Malta’s short distances to the main hospital and highly developed health system, survival rates from cardiac arrest witnessed by bystanders remains below average.
Locally, 71% of cardiac arrests are witnessed by laypersons. In 2016-17, bystander CPR occurred in just 40% of cardiac arrests and the overall survival to discharge from hospital was only 5%.
According to the Malta Resuscitation Council, survival can increase to 40% with prompt bystander recognition and initiation of high-quality chest compressions and to 60% if shock is delivered using an AED when indicated. In countries where basic life support is taught in schools, survival rates are two to three times higher.
“Having CPR training enshrined into the national curriculum will guarantee Malta with generations of life-savers empowered to act promptly wherever and whenever a cardiac arrest hits, driving survival rates up,” the council said.
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