The European Resuscitation Council (ERC) held its yearly congress in Bologna, Italy between the 20th and 22nd September 2018. The theme was New Technologies in Resuscitation. There were over 1300 participants from all over the world.
The Malta Resuscitation Council (MRC) was represented at this Congress in various fields. The Chairperson of the MRC Prof Simon Attard Montalto, Vice Chairperson Dr Tanya Esposito, and Committee Members Dr Ryan Farrugia, Dr Marius Caruana, Dr Anne Marie Camilleri Podesta, Dr Marthese Bartolo and Dr Mario Zerafa attended various meetings and workshops in relation to the running of ERC Life Support Courses in Malta. These include Basic, Immediate and Advanced Life Support Courses for Adults and Children, as well as the Generic Instructor Course for new ERC Instructors.
The MRC was also represented in the yearly CPR Competition held during the Congress. The team was made up of Dr Petramay Attard Cortis, Dr Christopher Gauci, Dr Anne Marie Camilleri Podesta, Dr Marius Caruana and Dr Tanya Esposito. Their excellent preliminary round performance can be seen on this video:
It clearly shows how practising the team approach can lead to an efficient delivery of CPR. The team met often during the summer to practice their routine and hone their CPR skills, in preparation for the competition. Unfortunately, the team was not selected to progress to the final rounds of the CPR competition this year. The team was strongly supported by MRC members Dr Christa Calleja and Dr Jonathan Joslin.
During this Congress, Committee Member Dr Mario Zerafa was awarded a Fellowship of the ERC. This is a great achievement for Dr Zerafa, the MRC and Malta. A poster was also presented by Dr Anne Marie Camilleri Podesta, titled “Faculty development in Malta for resuscitation instructors”. This poster was co-authored by Dr Elizabeth Norris, Dr Tanya Esposito and Prof Simon Attard Montalto.
Such a strong Maltese presence at the ERC Congress is important for contribution to the development of resuscitation training and science in Europe. It is also an excellent opportunity for networking, ensuring that overseas faculty feel welcome to come and share their experience and expertise in the delivery of courses in Malta.
