Organisations urged to train staff in first aid

By Caleb Kuleke

Ho, July 20, GNA- Mr Gershon Dzokoto, Volta Regional Director of the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS), has appealed to organisations to provide training for their workers in first aid.

He said first aid played an important role in keeping casualties from exacerbating and helping to stabilise conditions before seeking professional assistance to deal with them.

Mr Dzokoto, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Ho, noted that in the event of an emergency, a quick response from employees with knowledge in first aid could help save lives.

The Director said as part of emergency preparedness, it was imperative for workers to know how to respond to situations including injury and illness to provide relief to victims.

He said it was good for employers to have a fully trained first aid worker, but if they could not afford it, they should appoint one or two people and train them to take charge of the workplace first aid.

Mr Paul Kokuma, Lecturer at the Ho Nurses Training School, also stressed the need for organisations to take their employees through basic training in first aid such as controlling of bleeding and bandaging

He told GNA that it was paramount for every organisations to procure industrial first aid box based on the organisation’s first aid needs assessment to protect the people within its space.

The Lecturer said people in organisations were prone to injuries or occupational hazards as they continued to work, hence there must be emergency relief protocols to ensure their safety.

Mr Kokuma, who is also a first aider advised that first aid boxes should not be fixed on walls but rather made mobile and periodically stuffed with essential items for quick response to emergencies.

The Lecturer asked employers to create consciousness of personnel on safety in their organisations, saying safety consciousness was one necessary measure to forestalling accident from occurring at workplaces.

GNA