With free first aid workshops, a Hyderabad-based paediatrician is helping save lives

Ankita Rao (name changed) heard a loud thud from her bathroom one night. She rushed to find her husband lying unconscious on the floor due to cardiac arrest. Reacting swiftly, she called an ambulance and began performing CPR, a skill she had learned just a month earlier in a workshop by Dr Sivaranjani Santosh.

After an emergency surgery and three weeks in a coma, Rao’s husband regained his health. The doctors said the CPR probably played a critical role in saving his organs from further damage. Rao’s training in CPR made a significant difference in her husband's survival and recovery.

Many people like Rao are getting trained in life-saving techniques through free workshops conducted by Dr Santosh, a consultant paediatrician at Magna Centres, Hyderabad.

Since 2010, the doctor has been providing workshops based on life-saving techniques helpful in conditions such as seizures, choking, heart attack and more. Additionally, she also provides breastfeeding workshops.

“One out of six deaths can be prevented if the right first aid is provided at the right time. However, a lack of first aid knowledge can worsen cases at times. Therefore, with my free workshops I just aim that more and more people learn these basic skills and help in saving lives,” she tells SocialStory.

Dr Santosh has so far trained more 12,000 parents in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Bengaluru. She has also been nominated by the Andhra Pradesh Government for the Padma Shri Award 2023.

The beginning

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Since her earliest memories, Dr Santosh dreamt of becoming a doctor. Her family's legacy further fueled her passion, as both her father and grandfather had been in the profession.

At college, Dr Santosh discovered her interest in paediatrics. This led her to choose a paediatric specialisation, where she could make a positive impact on young lives.

“I figured out that I loved children and so did they,” she says laughingly.

She recalls that while she was in her post-graduation she once got choked on gooseberries. However, her intern did the Heimlich manoeuvre (giving abdominal thrusts to treat choking) and saved her life. Calling it a defining moment in her life, she says, “I am alive because that intern knew life-saving skills.”

In 2010, when she started working, she further observed that people had very little idea about life-saving skills. She also says that many people in public services like school bus drivers, caretakers, physical education teachers, sports teachers, security personnel and more do not know anything about life-saving techniques. With this thought, she began arranging free training workshops in Hyderabad.

“So many unnecessary deaths can be avoided if people know these basic skills. I aim to empower parents and everybody else to deal with the emergency situation confidently till the healthcare services arrive,” she adds.

Saving lives

Satyabhanu, from Hyderabad, saved her toddler’s life with the CPR training she received in one of the online sessions conducted by Dr Santosh. She was feeding her older child when she realised that her younger one who was earlier making some noise while sleeping, stopped making any sound. She went and saw that the baby wrapped a bed sheet around herself and wasn't breathing.

However, she did not lose her cool and started to give CPR. After 31 attempts, the baby started breathing and regained consciousness and started responding.

In the workshops, Dr Santosh provides hands-on training in first aid and CPR. She uses a mannequin to showcase the technique and then lets the audience practice as well. Each workshop lasts for three to four hours.

“First aid is not just about applying bandages to wounds, it goes way beyond this. In my workshops, I educate people on how to handle sudden fainting, seizures, unconsciousness, as well as managing emergency situations when foreign objects are inserted in a child’s nose or eyes,” she explains.

Convincing people to attend the workshops is one of the biggest challenges in running the programme, she says.

“Many people take it for granted but I never lost hope. I used to ask parents I met to attend the workshops and made WhatsApp groups to inform them about such events,” she says.

However, she adds that despite the initial challenges, now many parents have asked their children’s school authorities to organise these workshops. She conducts these workshops in schools, government orphanages and software companies. Dr Santosh has also conducted workshops with the female police, and ASHA workers.

Additionally, Dr Santosh also provides one on one breastfeeding workshop. She also holds workshops on anticipatory guidance for new mothers wherein she talks about the challenges they might face. So far she has trained over 11,000 breastfeeding mothers.

Recalling an instance, Dr Santosh says that one of the mothers she met had not been breastfeeding and was not able to figure out the reason. She went to other doctors but to no avail. She underwent an hour-long session with Dr Santosh, which helped her deal with the problem.

“Such instance gives you a lot of gratification for the work you do,” she adds.

The paediatrician has also been addressing other important topics such as fever management, diarrhoea, dehydration and more. She also advocates the importance of using authentic oral rehydration solution (ORS) drinks.

She says that WHO has given a formula which consists of the correct amount of sodium, potassium, and glucose to be used in times of dehydration. For making ORS, the company needs to get authorisation from CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation).

However many brands sell fruit juices as ORS with just the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) mark. The doctor says that these drinks do not have the elements in the prescribed quantity and thus might not be the right fit in cases with children having diarrhoea and vomiting.

These products, which are just ready-to-drink fruit juices have a much higher sugar than WHO-recommended levels, and will actually worsen the diarrhoea. The potassium imbalance could lead to rhythm disturbances of the heart and sodium imbalances can end up in seizures.

Managing her job and the workshops is a challenge for Dr Santosh, however, she says that with her family's cooperation and proper planning, she is able to manage both well.

“I hope that I get government recognition for the work I am doing so that I can reach out to more people,” she adds.