Homecare provider delivering life-saving training to Leeds’ over 60s residents

The director of a Leeds homecare service is providing emergency and first aid training to residents aged 60 and over in the hope of saving lives in his community.

Farooq Muzammal, Co-owner of Right at Home Leeds East, has recently qualified as a Yorkshire Ambulance Service Community First Responder (YAS CFR), enabling him to attend serious and potentially life-threatening emergencies.

Armed with the training, he is now working with local charities to teach older adults living in Leeds to perform CPR, safely use a defibrillator, respond to someone who is choking, and other life-saving techniques.

Farooq said: “When a loved one falls ill, especially with something serious such as a heart attack or stroke, minutes, and seconds, count. Being able to understand the signs and respond in the right way, can mean the difference between life and death.

“Calling 999 is important, and in a Category 1 emergency, which demands urgent intervention, a YAS CFR or ambulance should be with you within five to seven minutes, but what family members and carers do in those seven minutes is critical. That’s why we want to train members of our community to become real first responders.”

Farooq and his team of CareGivers, all of whom have undergone emergency first aid training, were invited by OPAL (Older People’s Action in the Locality) to train their first batch of volunteers three months ago and have since delivered two further sessions.

The director said the training is already having a positive impact on attendees, particularly those who care for their loved ones at home.

“A couple of weeks after our first training session, one of the ladies who attended told me that her husband had had a fall, and she was able to help him up safely due to the moving and handling element of the training,” Farooq said.

Right at Home Leeds East provides care and support for older and disabled adults living in their own homes, from Roundhay to Rothwell.

Services include elderly care, companionship support, personal care, live-in, respite and specialist dementia care.

If you would like to find out more about Right at Home Leeds East’s homecare services or career opportunities visit www.rightathome.co.uk/leeds-east