The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) encouraged every Filipino family to have at least one trained first aider in their home.

PRC reminded that accidents could also occur at home and the presence of a family member who is knowledgeable about first aid will ensure immediate action to save someone from accidents.

The humanitarian organization is offering a training course for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), this is an emergency life-saving procedure performed on patients whose hearts have stopped beating.

PRC noted that there are studies that show how cardiac arrest patients who are given CPR in pre-hospital settings have higher chances of survival. 

In line with that, PRC is also actively promoting its downloadable online first-aid application called "IFRC First Aid" where the public can read instructions on giving proper first aid.

The online application also has a link for directly calling the PRC emergency hotline.

Cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of death in the country, based on the Philippine Statistics Authority data in 2021.

PRC also provides the following first aid training courses that the DOLE recognizes: "(1) Standard First Aid Training and Basic Life Support/CPR - AED Training, (2) Occupational First Aid Training and Basic Life Support/CPR - AED Training, and (3) Emergency First Aid Training."

"As of July 13, 2022, PRC has trained 50,929 first aiders across the country," said PRC.

“Mayroon tayong Red Cross volunteers sa buong bansa, subalit walang first responder na mas mabilis na makakaresponde kaysa kapamilya, kapitbahay, o katrabaho (We have Red Cross volunteers across the country but there could be no quicker responder than a family member, neighbor, or workmate),” PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Gordon added.

Interested participants of the PRC training courses may contact [email protected].