THE evening started with the speaker instead of the business, as we needed to start the demonstration promptly.

Vince William started by telling us some history behind the start of Heartstart in Malvern. He has been part of it for more than 20 years and has probably educated hundreds of people in that time about how to recognise and cope with a medical emergency.

We were told about the D,R,A,B C method.

D = Danger – look to make sure you are not in danger before going near a casualty.

R = Response – try to get a response from the casualty by tapping their shoulder.

A = Airway – look to see if the airway of the casualty is clear.

B = Breathing – check to see if the casualty has stopped breathing. Then phone for help and make sure you tell the operator the status of the patient and your exact location.

C = CPR – now start to apply CPR.

This is an abbreviated version of the method. Please do not use it as a guide. At the end of the talk we felt we were better aware of how to cope with a medical emergency.

SUE HARTE