The Head of Special Operations and Emergency Preparedness at the National Ambulance Service, Alhassan Mashud Mohammed, has cautioned against the mishandling of accident victims at crash scenes.
He warned that improper movement of casualties could worsen injuries or lead to deaths.
“We advise that bystanders should not rush to move victims. Call 112, describe the situation and let trained paramedics handle it,” he said.
Mr Mohammed said this at a training event to equip individuals with knowledge and basic skills to respond effectively to emergencies.
The training was organised by the Korean Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), in collaboration with the National Ambulance Service (NAS), at the Korean Embassy in Accra.
It brought together members of the Korean Residents Association community, staff of the Embassy and volunteers.
The event covered key areas such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), management of choking and other life-threatening conditions.
In an interview, Mr Mohammed said awareness levels were once very low but have improved due to increased public education through the media and schools.
A few years back, when we started our blood service, the awareness was very low.
Now, Ghanaians are getting a little bit enlightened about our emergencies.
“Out of 100 per cent, I will say about 40 per cent are now aware, and about 30 per cent of them know what to do when there is an incident,” he stated.
Mr Mohammed said many Ghanaians now know the national emergency line, 112, and understand basic steps to take while waiting for an ambulance response.
He added that his outfit was still educating people through the media and also in schools, to know about the emergencies and what to do when such emergencies occurred.
He said in situations where access to victims was difficult, the NAS relied on Google maps and landmarks to locate people during emergencies, as there was no advanced tracking technology in place.
He, therefore, stated the readiness of the NAS to welcome any sponsorship or technological support to improve the system.
Mr Mohammed advised the public to call the national emergency number 112 in any emergency and provide the exact location and number of casualties.
He further advised the public to remain calm and stay on the line when reporting emergencies so that dispatchers could guide them appropriately.
“Do not just call and hang up the phone. Stay on the phone so the dispatch centre can assist you until help arrives,” he said.
The Country Director of KOFIH, Bomin Yang, explained that as an Official Development Assistance (ODA) agency under Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, KOFIH’s goal is to provide health-related support and capacity building.
He added that while KOFIH usually focuses on programmes such as maternal and child healthcare and biomedical engineering training for Ghanaian health professionals, the emergency training was the first time they conducted such life-saving skills training for the Korean community in Ghana.
Mr Yang added that the positive outcome had encouraged them to organise similar training next month for Korean residents in Tema.
