Medical Emergency Training

We had our annual medical emergency training at the practice this past Wednesday with our superb trainer, John. John has been conducting our training sessions for several years now, and as well as being a qualified paramedic, he holds several postgraduate degrees in the field of medical education. Our medical emergency training includes instruction on cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the use of medical emergency drugs in a dental setting, and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). In addition to this in depth annual training, we also carry out medical emergency drills on a monthly basis to keep these skills fresh in our minds and to make sure that we are always in practice with these invaluable techniques.

While AEDs are only recently becoming more widely available in community settings, we purchased an AED for the practice back in 2008.  Currently dental practices are not legally required to have an AED machine on site.  However we believe that it is vital not simply to have the standard training and equipment should a medical emergency arise but rather to surpass the legal minimum requirements, which in this instance could save the life of one of our patients or team members should they suffer a cardiac event on the premises. Studies have shown that using an AED within the first few minutes on someone experiencing cardiac arrest can increase their survival rate dramatically.  The increased survival rate leaves no doubt as to the benefits of having an AED machine immediately available to use in conjunction with effective CPR.  We certainly hope that we never have a medical emergency situation to test our skills, equipment, and training, but we, at Barker Dental Care, are doing everything that we can to ensure that we are well trained, prepared, and equipped should a medical emergency occur.