BIA Katunayake receives AED from Hemas Surgicals & Diagnostics

Chairman of Airport & Aviation Company Major General (Rtd) G.A. Chandrasiri, Managing Director of Hemas Surgicals & Diagnostics Jude Fernando, Deputy Director General of Health Services  Dr. S. Sridharan, President of College of Anesthetists & Intensivists-Dr. Anoma Perera, and the Chairperson of the National Resuscitation Council – Dr. Nilmini Wijesooriya at the handing-over ceremony held recently at the Silk Route Lounge.

Identifying the need for an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), which receives around 1.5 million passengers every year, Hemas Surgicals & Diagnostics (Pvt) Ltd., donated a Nihon Kohden AED at the request of the College of Anesthetist.

AED is a device made for non-medical personnel to deliver an electric shock to a patient in an emergency. The device is fully automated and gives voice commands, allowing anyone with a basic training to operate it. Receiving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and an electric shock to the heart from a Defibrillator immediately during a cardiac arrest, gives a 50% – 70% chance of survival.

The Nihon Kohden AED can be used by anyone with a basic training of CPR and AED usage. The machine has 2 pads which, once pasted to the patient’s chest, will analyze the ECG rhythm and give voice commands to direct the operator.

Managing Director of Hemas Surgicals & Diagnostics (Pvt) Ltd., Jude Fernando stated, “An average of 2 cardiac related medical emergencies are reported every month at the BIA. Therefore, having a highly sophisticated machine such as the AED made by Nihon Kohden Corporation, Japan installed at the Airport, helps the timely intervention of attending to such medical emergencies.It further boosts the image of the BIA as a passenger friendly Airport.”

Following the donation, a demonstration of the machine was conducted by Consultants from the College of Anesthetists.