Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the Jewish State, is all set to bring state-of-the-art emergency medical care to India. The quality of first-aid administered to victims of medical emergencies like accidents and cardiac arrests in the country is expected to witness a quantum jump to world class levels thanks to a collaborative mission between Magen David Adom, the Israeli National Emergency Medical Service and the Indian Red Cross Society.
Magen David Adom (Hebrew for Red Star of David) is the world leaders in offering first-aid to victims of medical emergencies and accidents. The MDA has developed a well-researched protocol based on experiences gained in Israel, a country which was always at the receiving end of terrorism unleashed by various Islamist organisations.
The first-aid administered to accident victims in India is outdated and needs immediate upgradation. A team of MDA experts led by Chaim Rafalowski, Israel’s National Disaster Coordinator was in New Delhi recently to train the volunteers of the Indian Red Cross Society.
“There were 19 volunteers from the IRCS selected for this training programme. The MDA team of veteran para-medics imparted the latest methods of first-aid programmes to the Indian volunteers. It was a first of its kind training programme between India and Israel,” Dr Vanshree Singh, IRCS’s coordinator told The Pioneer.
She said thanks to the protocol shared by the Israeli experts, the fatality rates in Indian road accidents could be brought down manifold. “We do have one of the highest road fatalities in the world. The number of deaths could be brought down if we succeed in providing quality first –aid in the golden hours,” said Dr Singh. Golden Hour is the time gap between the occurrence of the accident/medical emergency and the victim getting the medical care.
“MDA is conducting a great array of first-aid training programs including professional advanced ambulance care courses (Advanced life Support) and trainings to the medical community – physicians and nurses in the primary health care as well as in the hospitals system. We train communities and individuals to respond in the very immediate minutes after the accident or disaster. MDA also operates volunteers in those communities to be the first responders on the scene. Our training programs are focused on the participants acquiring skills through exercises and scenarios,” Rafalowski explained to The Pioneer.
Vijayalakshmi Kunhamma, a medical nurse from Kerala with decades of experience in hospitals in India and West Asian countries said the first aid offered in India is of poor quality. “We could save hundreds of thousands of lives if para medics are trained in the MDA expertise,” said Kunhamma.
Anita Prakash, veteran medical nurse pointed out that the mouth-to-mouth blowing to resuscitate the victims of cardiac arrest is a crude method. “The first-aid team rushing to the victims should have simple instruments like air blower with them. There is a method to be followed while lifting the victim from the scene to the ambulance and transporting him. Most of our para medics are ignorant about these rules,” she said.
Manish Choudhury, spokesman, IRCS, is confident that the training by MDA would lead to increase the number of volunteers with knowledge in first-aid. “Our mission is to have at least one first-aid expert in each family. It is an achievable goal and the cooperation with MDA is a beginning in this direction,” he said.
According to Government of India figures, the country sees 410 deaths per day in road accidents. More than 1.5 lakh pesons lost their lives in road accidents in 2016 alone.