Staff Correspondent

A lot of patients are dying in the country, due to a lack of proper knowledge about first aid and other medical procedures, Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan said Thursday at a training programme.

The IPDI Foundation and Supreme Court Bar Association organised the training programme on non-communicable disease awareness, heart attack prevention, and CPR training at the auditorium of Supreme Court Bar Association in the capital.

The country has made major progress on rolling out modern medical services, and yet many people are falling sick due to lack of awareness, the chief justice said.

Many among the unfortunate patients are dying due to lack of knowledge among his close ones about proper medical procedures like CPR for heart patients, the chief justice added lauding IPDI Foundation’s Thursday programme as timely and exemplary.

Every year a large number of deaths occur from non-communicable diseases like heart attacks or cardiac arrests, and the fatality rate is only growing in all the countries including Bangladesh, the country’s top judge further said.

Other participants of the event included Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, Supreme Court Bar Association President AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, the bar association’s Secretary Shah Monjurul Hoque, IPDI Foundation Chairman Professor Dr Abdul Wadud Chowdhury and the foundation’s Secretary General Professor Dr Mohsin Ahmed.

Healthy Heart Happy Life Organization (HeLO) President Abu Reza Md Qayyum Khan also spoke at the event, says a press release.

The Interactive Professional Development Initiatives (IPDI) Foundation strives to raise awareness about and improve medical treatments of non-communicable diseases.

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said awareness is a strong preventive measure against any sort of crisis, and in the case of non-communicable diseases, raising public awareness is highly essential.

He thanked IPDI for arranging the awareness raising event on Thursday.

IPDI Foundation Chairman Professor Dr Abdul Wadud Chowdhury said the number of heart patients is rising at an alarming rate in Bangladesh, making awareness and preventive measures the most significant available solution.

IPDI Foundation Secretary General Professor Dr Mohsin Ahmed said the role of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is undisputed in saving the life of a heart patient suffering a cardiac arrest. In the developed world, people are adequately aware of this fact, and thus workshops are regularly held there on proper administration of CPR.

However, there is little-to-no CPR awareness in Bangladesh, and thus minimal emphasis is given in the country on providing relevant trainings. IPDI Foundation, in cooperation with Healthy Heart Happy Life Organization (HeLO), is working to address this very crisis, Professor Dr Mohsin Ahmed added.

The joint efforts aim to build CPR training platforms in all the houses of the country, Dr Mohsin said.

CPR is a complex technique but anyone can apply it provided he/she has enough practice and the required skills. The process is aimed at keeping a cardiac arrest patient alive with the simple use of bare hands until modern medical services can be availed. An administerer has to compress the chest of the patient with bare hands at a special rhythm and also provide artificial ventilation, typically through mouth-to-mouth breathing.