To be ready when someone falls ill or is injured, the Palaceside Building invites tenant staff and partner-company employees to advanced first-aid training. This year, with COVID-19 in mind, we took various precautions and held the course over two days in Mainichi Hall on the first basement.
Completing the course earns an advanced first-aid skills certificate. This session was a refresher for people recertifying within three years of their last award. Over a full three hours we reviewed CPR and how to use an AED (automated external defibrillator — a device that delivers an electric shock to restore a normal heart rhythm).
As COVID measures, participants wore masks, had their temperature taken at the entrance and disinfected their hands. To keep social distance we left two meters between people, and each person used one CPR manikin (disinfected in advance). Bottled tea was also handed out to prevent heatstroke.
The instructor from the Tokyo Disaster Prevention and Emergency Medical Association explained, "With COVID circulating, we treat the person we are helping as someone who might be infected." Concrete directions included not bringing your face close when checking response and breathing, covering the person's face with a handkerchief or towel before chest compressions, washing your hands well after first aid, and not giving rescue breaths if the person is an adult.
Then came practice with the manikins. After checking that the area was safe and that we were wearing masks, we called loudly for help, asked someone to dial 119 and fetch an AED, and asked that windows be opened for ventilation. After checking breathing, we tried chest compressions (once called heart massage). You press the center of the chest about 5 cm deep with both hands. Keeping a pace of 100 to 120 times a minute left participants damp with sweat.
The instructor urged, "Even if you call 119, an ambulance takes seven to eight minutes on average in Tokyo. If you only watch or panic, the chance of survival is just 10 percent. Attempt CPR and save a life."