In a unique initiative, orthopaedic surgeons across the country are aiming to make a record by training over 1.14 lakh people as ‘first responders’ during road accidents. Of the total number of trainees, 15,000 people are to be imparted training in Uttar Pradesh.
“Such training for so many people in one stretch have never been conducted. We are doing it in a week (August 1 to 7) to mark the ‘National Bone and Joint Day’ falling on August 4. We will also go for Limca Book of records once training completes on August 7,” said Dr Anoop Agrawal, president elect of the UP Orthopaedic Association (UPOA) in a press conference on Tuesday.
The first responder training is about handling cases of road accidents without any medical support, till the medical team arrives. This, doctors say, acts as life saviour. “The training module is simple to understand and made to train non-medical person, and even those who are not educated,” said Dr Shah Waliullah, senior faculty, department of orthopaedic surgery, King George’s Medical University (KGMU).
In UP, training has begun in police department, paramedical institutes, private and government colleges and for drivers. “Participants are being trained on how to position an injured person; how to check their (injured person’s) breathing and also how to ensure that the breathing continues uninterrupted. And doing all this without actually having medical team around,” said Dr Santosh Singh, secretary UPOA.
“In case of road accident, injury is not known immediately. But if proper breathing is ensured with a check on bleeding, major damage to the body can be averted. This increase chance of survival and paves way for speedy recovery,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general, Association of International Doctors.
“We have made IOA life-saving skill demo videos too so that all can learn life-saving practices. The joy of saving life is tremendous and if you want to feel it, contact us and join our training programme,” said Dr Agrawal.
