From Brett Porter
I may be able to help explain Bob Trenkamp’s observation that a standing position using leg muscles for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) seemed to be lost for decades after failing to catch on (8 August, p 23).
As a 14-year-old in 1973 I realised that young people, as well as older people, may not be able to perform kneeling CPR. I asked my science teacher whether using feet and legs would be better. In 1976, when I started ambulance officer training, while still at school, I got to experiment on our Resusi Anne mannequin. My demonstrations to trainers were ridiculed.
Allowing for discrimination by age and pecking order, I think the main problem may lie with how it looks to stand over, and then stand on, a recumbent casualty. Hollywood prefers the dramatic “down there with ’em” effect.
Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia
