National Ambulance Service holds ‘Train-the-trainer’ workshop

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Ambulance Service (NAS), Professor Ahmed Zakariah, has urged members of the service to champion the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system in the country in order to save lives.

He said that would lead to the standardisation and improvement of the country’s EMS system stressing that, “a little improvement in the system can change situations and save lives”

Professor Zakariah was speaking at the closing ceremony of a 10-day First Responder Train-the-Trainer workshop held at the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) headquarters in Accra on Thursday.

The workshop, which brought together 39 participants from the Ghana Armed Forces, NADMO and NAS, was to provide first hand training to responders, individuals who usually arrived at emergency scenes of trauma or medical emergency.

It was a joint programme funded by the United States African Command (AFRICOM) and the State Department of the United States of America (USA) in conjunction with the USA Army National Guard of North Dakota and the North Dakota Department of Health.

Professor Zakariah said in order to do away with the perception that some people in the country cherished funerals than birthdays and the perception that some mortuaries were bigger than emergency rooms, “We need to invest in making our emergency centres better rather than building big mortuaries that are even bigger than hospitals”.

The workshop was in two phases. The first week was geared towards certifying all participants as American Hearts Association Basic Life Support (BLS) Providers.

The certification, therefore, gives them the ability to recognise several life-threatening emergencies.

Other Trending Stories

World Bank report identifies implementation gap in 50 countries hindering business climate

Curfew hours at Kpatinga in Northern Region extended by Interior Ministry

Let’s use access to information in building resilient societies — Information Minister

Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo, the Okuapehene

Afrifah Yamoah Ponko passes on

Participants were also taken through a comprehensive review of the curriculum for training first responders and in the second week, they were taught to be trainers of first responders by seasoned facilitators from North Dakota.