Abigail ErhiagbojeDr. Oluwole Olaomi, Chief Consultant, Surgeon and Chief of Trauma, National Trauma Center has stressed the need for every Nigerian to receive basic education on how to resuscitate a patient during health emergencies such as passing out.
Dr Olaomi’s advice follows the incident that occurred at Nigeria’s Senate chambers on Wednesday when a ministerial nominee from Kaduna State, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, slumped during his screening.
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The incident which occurred on Wednesday afternoon unsettled the lawmakers present as they were seen running around to resuscitate Mr Lawal. Thankfully, he was later revived, completed his screening, and left the National Assembly complex.
In an interview with Channels TV during the Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday morning, Mr. Oluwole reviewed the manner in which Mr. Lawal was handled and pointed out that in line with standard medical practice, it was improper and could have led to his death.
The medical expert stated that many Nigerians lack knowledge of basic life support and safety measures during health emergencies. He called on Nigerian education authorities to include resuscitation skills in Primary and Secondary School Curricula.
READ ALSO: Ministerial Nominee Revived After Collapsing During Screening
Dr Olaomi brought to the television studio, some materials to demonstrate the proper way of conducting Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on a patient.
According to him, “When somebody slumps, and it happens in front of you, you don’t know why that has happened. The first thing you do is allow that person to lay flat, talk to the person and be sure the person is breathing and responsive. Most of us don’t know how to measure the pulse. Just holding the hand of the patient and putting your finger…or even if you don’t know, just one hand around the neck…”.
“That tells you the heart is still working, and blood is being pumped to the brain. And then you talk to the patient. Call the patient gently, shake the patient in case or rather kneel before him and see if the patient’s heart is still functioning. If the patient’s heart is functioning but the patient is not breathing, then you need to start breathing into the patient’s mouth.”
Furthermore, he spoke against crowding a patient who has slumped, and that the patient should be given enough room to breathe and privacy. According to him, the patient should never be lifted as the members of the National Assembly had done to Mr. Lawal.
He also advised that only people who are knowledgeable in CPR should be allowed to handle such cases, so as not to endanger the life of the patient.
Mr. Oluwole then went ahead to practically show how to attend to patients who have slumped. According to him, other things that can be done while attending to people who pass out are, calling for help immediately if a patient’s heart stops functioning and carrying out a cardiac massage. He said that a standard cardiac massage must be given at the rate of 100 compressions per minute with both hands interlocked on the center of the person’s chest, pushing very fast while he or she lay on a hard surface. The person is expected to continue with this while checking the patient’s pulse until help arrives.
On the other hand, he added, that if the patient isn’t breathing, the person is expected to give 30 compressions, put a handkerchief in the patient’s mouth, and breathe into the mouth. One important thing he wanted Nigerians to note in this is making sure one has support and keeps the environment safe while carrying out a cardiac massage in a public place.
He stated that some of the possible reasons why the Kaduna ministerial nominee slumped were, stress, stage fright, drop in blood sugar level.
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