The St. John Association Guyana (St. John Ambulance Brigade), this week, received a boost in its capacity when Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Guyana, Viscount Roland de Rosiere presented a portable defibrillator to the Association’s Chairman.

An automatic external defibrillator provides electric shock to a heart that has stopped beating and this unit is regarded as one of the most important tools in saving the lives of sudden cardiac arrest in casualties.The defibrillator analyses the casualty’s heart rhythm and tells you what action is to be taken at each stage.

The Ambassador’s visit to St. John is the second this year. The first meeting was held in May when he saw the facility and was the Guest Speaker at a Meeting of the Brigade.

Arising out of discussions with the Chairman – Vibert Parvatan, was the apparent need to strengthen the capability of St. John Ambulance Brigade in its outreach programmes.

St. John Association Guyana, consistent with its mandate and its mission, provides trained First Aid Teams where large numbers are assembled in public places. Such programmes facilitate on the spot responses to emergencies which may arise including heart attacks.

The First Aiders are trained to apply CPR (Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation) with the aim of restarting the heart and keeping it beating until professional service takes over at hospitals.

In some cases, CPR alone will not restart the heart, but it is an important step in the chain of survival.

Mr. Parvatan on behalf of the St. John Association expressed sincere thanks to Ambassador de Rosiere and observed that in its planned expansion programme, the St. John Association will have trained First Aiders in all of the ten regions in Guyana and in that regard critical tooling will be a necessity.

Some of the First Aid tutors of St. John have already been trained in the use and application of the external defibrillator, benefiting from the annual Caribbean First Aid Training Courses conducted through St. John International Office London.

The Ambassador de Rosiere also advocated that such equipment should be placed at all public places, such as airports, banks, etc.

Ambassador expressed his pleasure to be able to cooperate with St. John as both Orders formed the Alliance with the German, Swedish and Dutch St. Johns. They all share the same origin, the Hospital founded over 900 years ago by the Blessed Gerard in Jerusalem, and pursue the same ideals to help the sick and the poor, which is achieved in large part, thanks to the many who volunteer.

Embassy Councillor Robert Paul M.D., who lives in Finland, is spending two weeks volunteering at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.