First aid : A little knowledge that can save lives
Five young doctors embark on a mission to train the nation in first response.
The First Response Initiative of Pakistan conducts monthly workshops to train people in first-aid skills. The workshops include various sessions such as CPR and C-spine stabilisation which may assist the people in helping victims in the event of a trauma. PHOTO COURTESY: FRIP
KARACHI:
A little awareness about first aid can save a significant number of lives in the event of an accident if the victims are handled properly on their way to the hospital.
With an aim to improve the level of care given to trauma victims and to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with trauma in Pakistan, five former students of the Dow Medical College launched an NGO, ‘First Response Initiative of Pakistan’ (FRIP), in March 2012. Since then, there has been no looking back.
“Our objective is to create awareness about first response among the masses. A ‘First responder’ is not a trained doctor or a paramedic, it is the first person who responds at the site of an accident and it can be any person,” explained Dr Umer Uqaili, one of the co-founders and general secretary of FRIP, in an interview with The Express Tribune. “When an accident occurs, a lot of people gather to help but since they have little or no knowledge about first response, they do more harm than good,” he added.
Since its launch, the FRIP has conducted over 40 workshops for medical students, school-children, community health workers, army personnel, journalists and university students, amongst others.
Would it be possible to train the entire nation? FRIP president Dr Akbar Herekar, who is currently studying for a postgraduate degree in the United States, in an email interview, said: “In foreign countries, everyone gets trained at the high-school level to learn skills, such as CPR and C-spine stabilisation, as they are easy to teach and learn.”
Dr Uqaili lamented that even doctors and medical residents who work in trauma and emergency departments are not trained in basic, first response. “We believe 8,000 medical students across Karachi need to be certified in first response on an emergency basis so that they can act as vectors to teach these skills to the general population,” he added.
Dr Saeed Minhas, the patron of FRIP and an associate professor of trauma and orthopaedics surgery at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre said: “We have been trying to make this subject a part of medical school curriculum but it has never happened,” he said. These young doctors initially started their work under the supervision of Dr Minhas.
“The first FRIP Level 1 workshop had only 10 participants. Ever since, our monthly workshops (of 30 students) get over-booked literally within minutes of an announcement because of the high-quality lifesaving information that we disseminate,” said Dr Herekar. This shows that medical students are keen to learn about first response if given the right avenue, he added.
Most of the ambulance rescue services operating in Karachi act more like taxi services and patient-transport vehicles rather than ambulances capable of administering quality pre-hospital care. Even though they have the resources to train their staff, they are hesitant about it. “If these organisations are willing to train their staff in pre-hospital care, we will teach them for free” added Dr. Herekar.
A medical student from Ziauddin University, shared how the training helped him save his sister from paralysis. “My sister fell from the first floor. She was conscious, holding her neck and complaining of severe neck and back ache. I immediately performed C-SPINE stabilisation, arranged a cervical collar and stabilised her neck till we reached the hospital.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2014.
A little awareness about first aid can save a significant number of lives in the event of an accident if the victims are handled properly on their way to the hospital.
With an aim to improve the level of care given to trauma victims and to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with trauma in Pakistan, five former students of the Dow Medical College launched an NGO, ‘First Response Initiative of Pakistan’ (FRIP), in March 2012. Since then, there has been no looking back.
“Our objective is to create awareness about first response among the masses. A ‘First responder’ is not a trained doctor or a paramedic, it is the first person who responds at the site of an accident and it can be any person,” explained Dr Umer Uqaili, one of the co-founders and general secretary of FRIP, in an interview with The Express Tribune. “When an accident occurs, a lot of people gather to help but since they have little or no knowledge about first response, they do more harm than good,” he added.
Since its launch, the FRIP has conducted over 40 workshops for medical students, school-children, community health workers, army personnel, journalists and university students, amongst others.
Would it be possible to train the entire nation? FRIP president Dr Akbar Herekar, who is currently studying for a postgraduate degree in the United States, in an email interview, said: “In foreign countries, everyone gets trained at the high-school level to learn skills, such as CPR and C-spine stabilisation, as they are easy to teach and learn.”
Dr Uqaili lamented that even doctors and medical residents who work in trauma and emergency departments are not trained in basic, first response. “We believe 8,000 medical students across Karachi need to be certified in first response on an emergency basis so that they can act as vectors to teach these skills to the general population,” he added.
Dr Saeed Minhas, the patron of FRIP and an associate professor of trauma and orthopaedics surgery at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre said: “We have been trying to make this subject a part of medical school curriculum but it has never happened,” he said. These young doctors initially started their work under the supervision of Dr Minhas.
“The first FRIP Level 1 workshop had only 10 participants. Ever since, our monthly workshops (of 30 students) get over-booked literally within minutes of an announcement because of the high-quality lifesaving information that we disseminate,” said Dr Herekar. This shows that medical students are keen to learn about first response if given the right avenue, he added.
Most of the ambulance rescue services operating in Karachi act more like taxi services and patient-transport vehicles rather than ambulances capable of administering quality pre-hospital care. Even though they have the resources to train their staff, they are hesitant about it. “If these organisations are willing to train their staff in pre-hospital care, we will teach them for free” added Dr. Herekar.
A medical student from Ziauddin University, shared how the training helped him save his sister from paralysis. “My sister fell from the first floor. She was conscious, holding her neck and complaining of severe neck and back ache. I immediately performed C-SPINE stabilisation, arranged a cervical collar and stabilised her neck till we reached the hospital.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2014.