Feedback from January Red Cross First Aid Course

As some of you may already know, in January members of the international community were fortunate enough to have been given the unique opportunity to complete an English language version of the Hellenic Red Cross Standard Certificate First Aid Course. Having completed the course, Kate and Luc from the Bugle feel extremely proud to have been able to participate in what was a very special and important experience for us. The course took place over the weekend of 22nd-24th January and was led by Constantinos and the team from the ‘Samaritan’ Branch of the local Red Cross. For those of our international readers who might be unclear about what the Samaritans here in Greece do, the Samaritans are the First Aid/ Search and Rescue arm of the Red Cross. Volunteers from the Samaritans are often first on the scene in the case of road and aeroplane accidents, fire, flood, mountain rescue, landslides, earthquakes etc. In order to become a fully trained member of the Samaritans one needs over 500 hours of training. Not only that but the volunteers from the Samaritans are expected to buy their own uniform, which costs 500 euros. As Bob Wright reported in December, it is quite staggering to think that in the Rethymnon area alone, there are 150 fully trained volunteers, with 30 junior cadets coming up (there are similar teams in other towns on the island). The Samaritans rely almost exclusively on charitable donations for funding, and are currently in need of help in order to finance a badly needed 4x4 rescue jeep - which will cost in the region of 15,000 euros. We are hoping that fund raising efforts by the international community will go some way towards raising the money for this.

The Samaritans are often called out at a moment’s notice. And, due to flash floods in the region, this was indeed the case in the days leading up to our course. Our local Samaritans were engaged in a major search and rescue operation in the Perama area, furthermore, the ‘boot camp’ in Skouloufia (the initially planned location for our course) became flooded. However, our local Samaritan team remained undaunted and rose to the challenge! We switched locations, and the course took place in the Red Cross head office in Rethymnon.

A multi-national group of ten people completed the course. We were really impressed by the way in which our instructor - Constantinos - managed to communicate to each and every one of us. As one might expect from a professionally standardised course, we were taught how to perform a variety of practical life saving skills. These included the Rautek manoeuvre, CPR for both adults and infants, the correct procedure (using your hands) to stabilise the head and neck of an accident victim whilst waiting for paramedics to arrive, and how and when to put somebody in the recovery position. We also learnt other essential practical first aid techniques, for example how to immobilise limbs in the case of potential fractures, the immediate action to be taken in the case of burns, the best way to stem bleeding from a wound, how to deal with heatstroke and hypothermia, emergency action to be taken in the case of allergic reactions and snakebite and lots more! However, aside from the standard practical skills that people generally associate with First Aid (which are of course extremely valuable) what was an equally important part of the course was the emphasis given on the general principles and psychological factors that should be taken into consideration when dealing with any emergency scenario: for example, the need to stay calm and to identify the situation before taking any action, the ways in which one can reassure the victim, and above all else preserving one’s own safety at all times. Here at the Bugle we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all those who helped to make this course possible - in particular, Constantinos and the Samaritan team, and Bob Wright for all his hard work coordinating this great event. And a huge ciao and grazie to bello Mare, the hugely enthusiastic and friendly Italian rescue dog, too!

Calling All Amateur Musicians!

RETHYMNO YOUTH ORCHESTRA IS LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS

The Rethymno Municipal Youth Orchestra is an amateur symphony orchestra, consisting mostly of high school and university students, but essentially anyone playing an instrument and wishing to play it with others is welcome. The orchestra’s activities are mainly in Rethymno, but also have an eye on the rest of Crete. Repertoire is ‘symphonic’, that is to say: classics, but also The Police, Frank Zappa, Manos Hadzidakis and other contemporaries arranged for symphony orchestra. The orchestra has even worked together with Greek popstar Alkinoos Ioannidis. For further information please contact Rino on 6944758441

Community Outreach Health Care Clinic: New Location and Times

Last April we reported that a community health care outreach clinic had been set up in Rethymnon. This project, aimed at providing health care for those who are not being taken care of by the existing insurance schemes, has met with a massive response in terms of people attending the clinic (we hesitate to call this a ‘success’ rate). It rapidly became clear that the original site was not big enough to cope with demand, and that some extra health care provisions were needed. In view of that, in mid November the clinic moved to a new location: Kastrinogiannaki 12 (small street by the Pharmacy on Metropolis Square). Surgery times have changed, too. Initially the surgery was only open on a Wednesday afternoon; according to our most recent information these are the new times: Monday, 6pm to-8pm - ‘pathology’ clinic (’pathology’ is roughly equivalent to ‘general practitioner’ in English), a pharmacy service is also available on Mondays; Tuesday, 10am until 12 noon - preventative gynaecological clinic; Wednesday 6pm to 8pm - paediatric clinic. It is hoped that in the near future there will also be a community dental surgery as well. The outreach clinic is a volunteer project that has been set up by local doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other volunteer workers. It currently also has the financial support of the municipality and the prefecture.