'Everybody, most definitely' needs to know how to perform CPR

Tamworth's Cameron McFarlane, an aquatic lifeguard and surf lifesaver, has been teaching Year 5 and 6 students, and more recently high school students, across NSW and overseas basic CPR skills since 2011.

He marked a milestone on Thursday August 17, by teaching his 50,000th student how to perform CPR at Tamworth West Public School - the school where the former Tamworth East Public School student kicked off the program in 2011.

In the years since, Mr McFarlane has visited hundreds of schools, and knows of at least two incidents where students who have completed his course have saved a life.

"One was a couple of years ago, and one only a couple of weeks ago where a student saved a younger relative," he said.

"I'm proud to think those students learned the skills from this NSW CPR Program.

"CPR is an important skill everyone, particularly younger generations, should know how to perform - and brush up on existing skills if they have them - because if they are ever faced with a crisis situation, hopefully they will be able to perform effective CPR and save a life," he said.

Mr McFarlane, who works as an aquatic lifeguard at Gunnedah, had used CPR skills himself fives times during an emergency situation which could have led to a fatality prior to developing the program, and another time since, so saved six lives in total.

"Those lives were saved not because I [performed the CPR] but because I knew how to do it - that's the message and the focus we're trying to push through to these young students."

It was his own experiences which required the use of CPR skills that led him to establish the NSW CPR Program, designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge to perform CPR and save a life.

Mr McFarlane said it was "rewarding to know there were 50,000 students that can now potentially save a life," he said.

"Even if the children I teach only remember 20 per cent of what I teach them, this might be enough to save a life," he said.

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"Hopefully the students here today will never be faced with a situation where they need to use CPR, but if they do and they can remember some of the steps and info we have been through, they can save a life."

With plenty of murky creeks and rivers, not to mention farm dams, Mr McFarlane said the bush had one of the highest drowning rates in recent years.

"A lot of students live on farms with access to creeks and dams, so I think [CPR] is a good skill to have in the bush," he said.

"There's not a lack of water safety education in the bush, but I think we can always try to improve, better ourselves. The more we can instil increased awareness of water skills and CPR is a positive."

Mr McFarlane has tailored the program's training to suit different ages, so the content for Year 5 and 6 students is more basic than what would be taught to high school students.

When queried who should learn CPR, Mr McFarlane emphatically responds "everybody, most definitely".

"Everyone should have a general awareness of how to do CPR - you don't have to be fully qualified but at least know what to do in a time of need because CPR can, and does, save many lives," he said.

Schools contact Mr McFarlane about participating in the program, which is also supported by Surf Lifesaving, which provides many supplies to enable to lessons.

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