Ho, Nov. 20, GNA – Mr Gershon Koffi Dzokoto, Volta Regional Manager, Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS), has advised the public to endeavour to acquire first aid knowledge and skills to save lives.
He said first aid was simply the use of basic improvised materials to prevent conditions from exacerbating and save lives before seeking professional help, therefore every citizen must embrace the idea to acquire first aid knowledge.
Mr Dzokoto who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Ho said “our desire as Ghana Red Cross Society is that any two people you meet on the street one should have an idea of first aid because it saves lives.”
The Director said one could be in a better position to provide first aid services to someone in need, if he or she had adequate knowledge and skills in first aid, adding that the importance of first aid to individuals, society, and the country at large cannot be underestimated.
“If you do not have the skills in first aid, you can kill somebody, so we are praying that the public should embrace the idea and know the importance of first aid,” he said.
He said the country continued to hear of accident victims dying upon arrival at hospitals because sometimes those transporting the victims did not handle them properly, the reason it was important for all to have first aid knowledge to avoid certain preventable deaths.
Dr Dzokoto said people who became unconscious due to accidents, needed proper handling as some of them cannot respond to stimuli as a result of a communication gap between the brain and other parts of the body, therefore extra care ought to be taken in handling such people to protect their spinal cord and other delicate organs.
“We believe that everybody regardless of who you are or where you are once you take transport, get out of the house and go to town you need the knowledge of first aid not only for yourself but others because when accidents occurred and the first respondent could give proper care many of the people we hear have died would not have died,” he stated.
He said his outfit had embarked on sensitising driver unions, churches, schools, and institutions on the need for their members and workers to acquire first aid knowledge, knowledge in risk reduction, and how to respond quickly and timely to disaster.
The Director said the Society had a department that offered first aid training to people who wanted to acquire first aid knowledge and skills, urging the citizenry to take advantage of it to help save lives.
He said the Society had an agreement with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service (GES) to provide first aid training to two teachers each from every school in the 18 districts in the Volta Region and had been to three schools before the outbreak of the Covid-19.
The Director expressed hope that the training would continue as soon as Covid-19 restrictions were fully eased and everything had returned to normalcy and commended the GES for their effective collaboration.
Mr Dzokoto underscored the need to include first aid training in the country’s educational system so that children could start learning about the application of first aid skills and knowledge as they grew up to put them in a better position to save lives.
On COVID-19, Mr Dzokoto said the GRCS provided some preventive materials to some communities, schools, organisations among others to help stem the spread of the disease.
He implored the populace to continue to observe the health safety protocols to help defeat the virus.
GNA