On an ordinary Tuesday at his job managing a petrol station, Misbah Islam was coughing, feeling “a little weird” and had tightness on his left side.
Key points:
- Sessions being held in mosques around Australia to teach CPR and other first aid skills
- Organisers say the familiar venue helps get in touch with harder to reach community members
- Female practitioners attending will help overcome cultural barriers to participation
Concerned about his wellbeing, he asked a colleague to call an ambulance.
Paramedics soon told Mr Islam he was having a heart attack.
“I said ‘no way’,” Mr Islam, 45, said.
But he said he then lost consciousness in the ambulance as they arrived at Nepean Hospital and needed to be resuscitated.
Nurses later told him he had been revived on a table.
“They said you’ve gone for a minute or less than a minute,” Mr Islam said.
He said his wife had learned how to use a defibrillator and his children had learned how to do CPR.
He hoped more people from his Muslim faith community would take the opportunity to learn lifesaving skills at upcoming workshops being held in mosques around the country.
Familiar setting
Attendees will be taught how to deal with choking, how to do CPR and how to use a defibrillator at the free Lifesaver sessions to be run on Saturday by the Australian Islamic Medical Association (AIMA).
AIMA vice-president Omer Shareef said it was important to teach people skills to eliminate bystander hesitancy.
“Most of the people who come to [the] mosque, their background is from the CALD [culturally and linguistically diverse] community … and they are hesitant to start anything … outside their comfort zone,” Dr Shareef said.
“They are not really sure whether they should intervene.
“We are trying to empower them and enable them to be able to help.”
Dr Shareef said sessions were being held in mosques because they were a familiar place for people from refugee backgrounds.
He said there would likely be people who spoke their language.
“When they are in the mosque, they feel safe,” he said.
Mosques holding sessions include Omar Mosque in Auburn, Sydney, Melbourne’s Grand Mosque and Brisbane’s West End Mosque.
AIMA has previously held health initiatives at mosques such as blood donation drives.
Female participation encouraged
The organisation says there is usually an even spread of males and females registered for the sessions.
Sydney-based ophthalmologist Saadiah Goolam said female practitioners would take part in the program to help women who may have been prevented from participation by cultural barriers.
“Our aim is actually to try and reach everybody, regardless of their cultural background,” Dr Goolam said.
“These kinds of life-changing moments strike at any place at any time.”
Key part of faith
Dr Shareef said a key teaching of Islam found in the Qu’ran was to save one person’s life is to save all of humanity.
He said the program would use that principle to instil confidence in participants who may have otherwise been hesitant to help in a public first aid situation.
“We are going to ask them a question — how morally and ethically would [they] feel, to think it’s wiser not to help a person,” Dr Shareef said.
Mr Islam said he felt lucky his incident was not more severe.
“Don’t wait for the doctor, nurse or ambos … one second and one minute is very crucial,” Mr Islam said.
“Everybody should learn this small thing, give 10-15 minutes how to use the defibrillator, how to do the CPR.”
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