Chennai: To bridge the delay in getting medical help to railway passengers, on Wednesday, front line commercial staff of the Chennai division was given the training to administer first aid ahead of the 108 ambulances reaches passengers in need. According to senior officials, during a medical emergency, the Railway Medical Department, as well as the 108 National Emergency Network, swings into action but before the emergency service reaches the spot, it is imperative that first-aid is rendered to a passenger at the golden hour.
According to a recent report of the Medical Council of India (MCI), there are around 9.29 lakh doctors registered in the Indian Medical Register. It gives a doctor-patient ratio of 1:1674 in India against the WHO norm of 1:1000. In such a scenario, this first aid training for frontline staff in Railway assumes importance as these staff like Travelling Ticket Examiners and Ticket Collectors are the first people to witness the medical emergency of passengers.
The training session involved giving ABC of First Aid – Airway, Breathing, Circulation dealing with the dos and don’ts of responding to a medical emergency, including Basic Adult Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Basic First Aid Intervention and Universal Precautions that need to be taken during rendering of First Aid. The training was conducted by the Commercial branch of Chennai Division in association with St. Johns Ambulance (SJAB).
