Accra, Sept. 20, GNA - Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, a Deputy Minister of Health, on Wednesday called for extension of first aid training to all workplaces, educational institutions, homes and communities since it was important in one's everyday life.
He said when this was done and sustained, unnecessary deaths resulting from road and domestic accidents would be curtailed. Speaking at the opening of a three-day international Africa Regional meeting of the St. John Ambulance Associations in Accra, the Deputy Minister said lack of knowledge and inability to provide first aid to victims, who sustained various degrees of injuries through of accidents resulted in unpreventable deaths. The meetings, held every 18 months with other members from Europe, would discuss good practice guide; ambulance operations; introduction to strategic planning and rollout of the new lifesaver international first aid course.
Mr Owusu-Agyei said St. John Ambulance, Ghana, was now operating as a subvented organization under the Ministry of Health. He commended institutions that had supported St. John Ambulance Ghana in their activities to save lives and train other people by offering first aid whenever there was an accident. Statistics on road accidents indicate that 80 per cent of accident victims died before being conveyed to health facilities due to mishandling by "rescue teams" who had no knowledge of first aid skills. "Survival or death of an accident victim is linked with the 'on the spot management' and most of the accident deaths would have been prevented if victims were handled properly and given the needed first aid before they were taken to the health facility. "Even putting them in a car also requires some skills to prevent any aggravation of their situation," he said. Mrs Hilda Commey, Executive-Secretary of St. John Ambulance Ghana, said the meeting would encourage regional collaboration by identifying common needs; opportunities for regional co-operation; update from within and among St. John associations in the Greater Africa Region and provide training in specific topics of interest for capacity development and expertise.
She said the meeting would also discuss issues affecting the youth, which included HIV/AIDS awareness, marketing and public relations, which reflected the importance St John attached to youth issues. Mr John Stachan from New Zealand and Deputy Lord Prior of St. John Ambulance International commended the Ministry of Health for their support to St John Ambulance Ghana and called for further development of the Association.
