• Burgos City Council is promoting the “SOS RESPIRA” campaign together with Fundación MAPFRE, SEMES and FACYRE.
• H.R.H. the Infanta Elena “Thanks to this campaign, anyone can learn what to do in the event of someone choking”
Today, 7 June, Fundación MAPFRE, the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES) and FACYRE, in collaboration with Burgos City Council, launched the SOS Respira Campaign, an initiative that aims to reduce the number of deaths caused by obstruction of the airway, something that can be avoided by using simple maneuvers.
The objective of this campaign is to train professionals involved in the culinary world through a variety of educational exercises, so that they know what to do in the event of someone choking as well as engaging in awareness-raising activities aimed at the general public, families, workers etc.
They will learn during the training that if the choking victim can still make sounds and breathe, even with difficulty, then this represents a minor obstruction, a situation in which all that is required is for the person concerned to be encouraged to cough very hard. In the event that the person affected cannot breathe, speak or make sounds, if the cough is weak or non-existent and if the skin starts to take on a blue tone, phone 112 urgently and initiate the Heimlich maneuver.
For that reason, the organizing bodies involved will be carrying out activities in Burgos until 17 June, including awareness-raising events in Civic Centers, primary and secondary schools and nurseries, as well as in the city’s restaurants and firms.
Also, over these two weekends, marquees will be set up in the Paseo de Atapuerca (10 June) and the Paseo del Espolón (16 and 17 June), where activities will be take place to raise awareness of the maneuver to use in a situation where someone is choking. The campaign will also make an appearance at El Parral on 8 June and at the El Mirador de Burgos shopping mall on 7 and 8 June.
During the launch of the campaign, H.R.H. the Infanta Elena, director of projects for Fundación MAPFRE, pointed out that “choking is something that occurs frequently in everyday life. It is quite possible that someone in our immediate circle, a friend, family member or work colleague has gone through this kind of experience. That is why Fundación MAPFRE, SEMES and FACYRE have been promoting the SOS Respira campaign, the aim of which is that we all know what to do in the event of someone choking with the sole objective of saving lives”.
Also taking part in event, held in the Teatro Principal, was Javier Lacalle, Mayor of Burgos; Lorena de la Fuente, the Burgos Councilor for Health and Culture; Joaquín Fernández de Valderrama, 1st Vice-President of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine in Castile and León; Antonio Guzmán, director of Health Promotion for Fundación MAPFRE; and the chef Miguel Cobo.
The SOS Respira campaign is accompanied by an app that is available in iOS and Android versions and which teaches users how to identify and resolve an obstruction caused by a foreign body in the airway of victims of all ages (adults, children and babies).
This APP, in a straightforward way, uses videos and diagrams to provide a simple guide on learning how to respond in the correct order and the maneuvers required to prevent someone from choking.
You can download the APP from: www.sosrespira.org