The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has launched CPR and medical-emergency response training across its 45 depots to improve employees’ preparedness for sudden cardiac arrest and other urgent health situations.
The programme was organised by the BMTC in collaboration with RV College of Nursing as part of a campaign marking Restart a Heart Day. Demonstration and practical training sessions were held at the HSR Layout, Shanthinagar and Koramangala depots, with drivers and conductors taking part, according to a BMTC statement reported by Prajavani.
The training focused on the basic knowledge and practical skills required to respond immediately during a medical emergency. Participants were shown how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, including chest compressions, and how to identify signs of cardiac arrest.
The sessions also covered how to seek emergency medical assistance and the steps employees should take when a person requires urgent care. The programme is intended to give BMTC staff a structured first response before professional medical help becomes available, although the statement did not provide details of any new equipment, ambulance arrangements or changes to the corporation’s existing emergency protocols.
Three specialised teams conducted the sessions at the three depots. The teams included nursing teaching staff, postgraduate nursing students and media personnel, under the guidance of Dr Gajendra Singh, principal of RV College of Nursing.
BMTC said awareness programmes would be conducted in phases at the remaining depots. The corporation has not disclosed a detailed schedule for the next sessions or the total number of employees expected to undergo the training. The initiative places emergency preparedness within the daily operational environment of Bengaluru’s public transport system, where drivers, conductors and depot staff work across a large network of bus services.
The next phase of the programme will be the rollout of the awareness and practical training sessions at the remaining BMTC depots, as announced by the corporation.
