By Muniratu Akweley Issah
Accra, May 17, GNA- Some commercial drivers plying their trade within the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions have been trained in how to resuscitate a person with cardiac arrest and administer first aid to injured persons.
The training brought together 20 drivers who were equipped with essential skills and knowledge in first aid administration and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for people who have suffered cardiac arrest.
Health experts say cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique that is useful in many emergencies in which someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped.
The training exercise was organised by Jadarls Foundation, in partnership with KGL Foundation as part of the “Drive to Safe” road safety campaign and with technical support from the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC).
The drivers ply their trade on the Accra – Kumasi Highway and Accra – Eastern Region Highway and were drawn from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) and Cooperative Drivers Union.
They were taken through hands-on CPR training (also called chest-only CPR or Compression-only CPR) where the first aider must take some emergency response protocols to ensure the safety of passengers and fellow road users.
These protocols are ensuring a safe environment, ascertaining consciousness or otherwise of the person, if the person is unconscious, tap the shoulder and ask loudly “Are you ok?”, direct someone to call 112 (ambulance) or do that himself if the need be before beginning CPR.
The drivers had been trained as trainers who would subsequently train their members at the various lorry stations
Madam Aisha Asante, Basic Life Support Instructor, UGMC, said, that CPR is a basic technique that every individual must learn to help one another in our communities, adding that it required training because the strength needed to resuscitate adults, children from age one to eight, and babies less than one year varies.
She said CPR must be done quickly after the cardiac arrest and after the first aider had followed the safety protocols to avoid brain death if the brain had not received oxygenated blood between 4 to 10 minutes.
“CPR applications do not give 100 per cent survival but the chances of being resuscitated are high. There must be 100 to 120 compressions per minute and after 10 minutes without oxygenated blood to the brain, the brain is damaged,” Madam Asante said.
Mr. Edmund Agbeve, Project Lead, Jadarls Foundation, said there was a need for improved emergency response skills among commercial drivers, with a focus on alarming accidents and casualties where an estimated 21,593 vehicles were involved in accidents with 1,985 deaths and 13,109 injuries between January to October 2022.
“This initiative goes beyond imparting skills; it’s about instilling a culture of preparedness and swift response among our drivers. Equipped with CPR and first aid knowledge, they can save lives and mitigate the impact of accidents on our roads,” he added.
Mr Moro Ayana Sanda, Welfare Officer, Madina – Akuapem Station of GPRTU, said: “This exercise is a novelty for us and has given us the skills and courage to help passengers and all people. We have a duty to educate our colleagues and transfer the knowledge we have acquired here to them. We look forward to the Foundations for periodic training.”
Participants were provided with first aid kits, educative booklets, and posters to support their learning and application of acquired skills.
GNA