How the CISF continues CPR training amid pandemic - videos, night classes

New Delhi: From saving the life of police officers to that of civillians and even personnel posted at border areas, the Central Industrial Security Force has doubled up as first responders in scores of medical emergencies — especially in areas like the Metro premises here or the Delhi airport.

Since the beginning of 2020, CISF personnel have intervened with the critical medical response to save the life of as many as nine people, including civillians and police personnel.

For instance, on December 18, 2020, a Delhi Police constable was unable to breathe properly and soon fell unconscious at the Kashmere Gate metro station. He was given Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by Central Industrial Security Force due to which he regained consciousness.

In a similar incident at the Dabri Metro Station in January this year, constable Vikash, who was deployed for security, noticed that a passenger was having trouble breathing and had collapsed, due to which he sustained an injury to his face and mouth. Immediately, Vikas started giving CPR to the passenger and the commuter regained consciousness.

But the emergency response training schedule of officers posted in areas like the airport and the Metro has gone haywire due to the pandemic, resulting in the CISF having to offer such training courses online and hold classes at night.

According to the official, the Internet helped them train and share classes during the pandemic. "Information technology is also being used to bolster refresher and rotational training through online courses and videos. After seeing videos they can learn about performing CPR," the official added.

Another senior officer of the CISF's DMRC unit said non-operation hours of Metro services at night are often utilised for training personnel - not just in CPR but also soft skills, basic first aid, etc.

"Due to COVID-19 guidelines, not everyone can reach our in-house training camp so we have started giving training to trainers who are deployed along various Metro

lines so that they can further give training to other personnel at Metro stations itself," the official said.

According to data compiled by the CISF, last year four cases (one from IGIA, three from DMRC) and in the current year (till March 16) five cases (one from IGIA and five from DMRC) were reported where CPR was performed by CISF personnel to save commuters' lives.

Constable Vikash Kumar from CISF said, "Apart from providing security at Metro Stations, we have to ensure commuters' safety." He said, "I have to react as per the commuter's condition. On January 18, I saw blood coming out from the nose and mouth of the person and he was lying unconscious. I started performing CPR and blood was clear from his nose and mouth and after 10-12 minutes he regained consciousness," the constable said.

One other CISF official said that soon after joining the force, all personnel must go through basic training in firefighting, first aid and other emergency response and rescue operations. "In DMRC, where there is a rush of commuters, regular training of CPR is given to all personnel. We also conduct mock drills at every station in which we also cover CPR training," the official said, adding that every year rotational training for 15 days is also given to all personnel by trained inspectors.