SRINAGAR: On World Heart Day, the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) on Monday launched ‘CPR 360’, a community outreach initiative aimed at equipping people with lifesaving skills to respond to cardiac emergencies.
The initiative includes structured academic and community-based training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), with SKIMS calling for wider participation to strengthen the first response to cardiac arrests and other life-threatening emergencies.
As part of the launch, SKIMS organised a hands-on community CPR workshop attended by members of the Traffic Police, trekking community, schools and gymnasiums.
Participants were given practical demonstrations and training in basic CPR and other essential first-response techniques. Certificates were also presented to those who completed the programme.
Addressing the gathering, SKIMS Director and EOSG Prof M Ashraf Ganie said lifesaving skills such as CPR should not remain limited to hospitals and healthcare professionals but should reach the wider community.
“There is an urgent need to sensitise and train communities at a much larger scale. Timely CPR and an appropriate first response can make a critical difference in saving a life,” he said.
Ganie said SKIMS had the expertise, infrastructure and human resources to lead the initiative and called for CPR 360 to evolve into a sustained, community-oriented programme.
He also highlighted the proposed SKIMS Research Winter/Summer Fellowship Programme, saying it could provide students with opportunities for structured academic learning, research and community outreach while creating a network of young health ambassadors to spread health awareness and lifesaving skills.
On the occasion, Ganie also released the Academic Curriculum and Training Module for the three-year Post-Doctoral Training Programme in Cardiology developed by the Department of Cardiology.
The curriculum provides a structured framework for advanced academic, clinical and procedural training and is aimed at strengthening specialised expertise in the management and prevention of cardiovascular emergencies.
Head of the Department of Cardiology, Prof (Dr) Imran Hafeez, said every citizen trained in CPR could become a first responder.
“With CPR 360, our goal is to make bystander CPR a community reflex, so that no one in Kashmir loses a life for want of a few minutes of timely help,” he said.
SSP Traffic Ajaz Ahmed Bhat also participated in the valedictory function and stressed the importance of such initiatives at the community level.
During the event, former Heads of the Department of Cardiology, Prof Hilal and Prof Aijaz Lone, were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contributions to cardiology and the development of the specialty at SKIMS.
The organisers also felicitated the Departments of Critical Care, Anaesthesia and Pharmacy, along with the In-charge of the SKIMS Skill Lab, for their support in conducting the programme.
The event concluded with the distribution of certificates among participants from different community groups who underwent CPR training.
