Forté Health upskill staff to bring CPR training in-house

New skills, new job title and new responsibilities for a Forté Health team member, as CPR training is brought in-house.

Will Morrish is Forté Health’s new Resuscitation Coordinator, a role he is proud to fill after Forté Health supported him through his resuscitation training qualification.

Previously, Forté Health outsourced CPR training to independent providers, but the decision was made to train their own trainers – and Will is the first! The decision was driven by the opportunity to upskill and develop existing staff, while also allowing Forté Health to provide additional CPR training and support across its entire workforce. 

Will Morrish has been working at Forté Health for five years as an Anaesthetic Technician and Registered Nurse. He says the opportunity to become a qualified resuscitation trainer was exciting.

“Extending my skills to extend the skills of others around the workplace is something I thought I’d like to do, so I put my hand up straight away,” says Will. 

To become qualified in training CPR, Will spent six weeks studying and a weekend hands-on learning with the New Zealand Resuscitation Council, to become a NZRC Instructor.

Having Will equipped to teach CPR means Forté Health can keep all medical staff up-to-date with the required training with less reliance on external support. It also provides opportunities for non-clinical staff to upskill.

“We’re offering the CPR training to everyone on staff – from the concierge to office staff – the more people that know how to do CPR and use an automatic defibrillation device, the better,” says Will.

The training staff receive will depend on the potential levels of risk they face in their roles.

“A basic CPR course takes two hours, but for more advanced skills more detailed training is required – for example registered staff have to complete more comprehensive training.

“Being on staff and devoting one day a fortnight to this role means that we’re able to go beyond what’s required and do things like scenario-based exercises. It’s all part of our vision at Forté to provide the very best patient care possible,” says Will.