Aiming to cut down response time

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, August 19th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Ibrahim Al Ameri, Head of the Emergency and Public Safety Department at the Abu Dhabi Police, announced that the “Be a Paramedic” campaign for the employees of governmental institutions, which was launched by the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, aims at educating and training at least 70% of employees at ministries and government institutions and departments across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Lieutenant Colonel Al Ameri explained that the 3-phase plan will run over a 3 year period. In the first phase, 30% of the employees will be trained, while 20% will receive training in the second and the third phases over a 2-year period.

In a press conference he held on Tuesday at the ADP Forensic Evidence Hall, and attended by Lieutenant Colonel Zeyad Al Hajri, Deputy Head of the Emergency and Public Safety Department, Lieutenant Colonel Al Ameri  outlined the direct impact of the campaign on the public in general and the target categories in particular. He said: “We need to raise awareness on how to reduce complications that may be associated with medical emergencies; educate the various society segments on the proper ways to help or intervene in an emergency and how to request assistance when necessary; and introduce members of the public to potential health risks and the importance of first aid training and equipment use.”

Lieutenant Colonel Al Ameri added: “Trainees will be introduced to public safety procedures and requirements; the risks of household and traffic accidents; cases of choking; fires, slipping or drowning. The campaign will also teach individuals how to handle injuries that result from accidents; and how to prevent or reduce complications that may arise from accidents, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and other medical conditions. Trainees will also be acquainted with the proper procedures to request the ambulance service and provide an accurate description of the accident location.”

“Mothers working at the institutions covered by the campaign will benefit from the purposeful education and training aimed at acquainting them with the proper ways to handle household emergencies; how to contact the operations room and how to provide useful and detailed information about the reported accident. This would help keep the injured individuals in stable condition and reduce response time,” Lieutenant Colonel Al Ameri continued.

Lieutenant Colonel Al Ameri explained: “This campaign, carried out through the community ambulance team, who will train governmental employees throughout the emirate of Abu Dhabi on how to administer first aid to those who may be injured or sick. This campaign reflects the vision and the mission of the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ to ensure that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi remains a society that enjoys safety and security. It also embodies the ADP priority strategy, which is to increase society’s trust, achieve optimal use of human resources, promote the role of community ambulance to prevent diseases and accidents; and educate the public on how to manage and handle emergency situations. During the campaign, employees will be trained on how to use defibrillator (CPR) devices, in order to reduce death rates due to sudden cardiac arrest outside the hospital.”

Lieutenant Colonel Al Ameri answered the media’s questions, citing the partnership between the Abu Dhabi Police and the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD). He noted that the courses organized by the Emergency Department align with the HAAD standards and terms, and keep pace with any updates regarding any new medical regulations or directives.

Adding further, Lieutenant Colonel Al Ameri said: “The campaign is a subset of the Abu Dhabi Police strategic system that aims to respond to all emergency calls within four minutes only; expand ambulance locations to compliment the efforts of the Abu Dhabi Police via the Emergency and Public Safety Department; provide various ambulance services in line with the national agenda of the United Arab Emirates for the next 7 years to establish itself as the safest place on earth; and to respond to emergency calls in a record time.”

Captain Khaled Al Ka’bi, Deputy Chief of Ambulance Section at the Emergency Department, said: “There are several standards for clinical practice and training for the defibrillator (CPR) device, which the employees will use.  It provides an ECG and gives directions on the proper way to handle the patient, explaining how to apply chest compressions and how to perform artificial respiration.”

Furthermore, Captain Yusuf Al Ka’bi, Head of the Community Ambulance Team, said: “The community ambulance is a service provided by the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ to enhance public awareness about the proper ways to deal with emergency cases. The main focus of the team is to raise awareness on first aid and stress the importance of contacting the operations room on 999. The team also identifies the needs of external entities for training courses, as well as solves issues that may face medical teams; while focusing efforts on providing assistance to children, employees, workers and housewives, in addition to visiting patients.”

Captain Yusuf Al Ka’bi added: “The programs adopted by the Training Section at the Emergency and Public Safety Department are certified by the American Heart Association in basic life support (BLS), especially the first aid courses. Basic Life Support can be provided to an individual, whose heart has stopped beating, by another individual qualified to perform CPR. Effective basic life support can increase a victim’s chance of survival. As a part of the campaign, we will distribute booklets and brochures about first aid to the employees at government institutions. Once they complete their courses, they can refer to these manuals as an additional source of information in cases of emergency.”

“Government institutions’ employees across Abu Dhabi will be introduced to the role of community ambulance, which aims to reduce the response time and keep patients in a stable condition until paramedics arrive. They will also be taught the appropriate ways to contact the operations room; how to give accurate coordinates of the accident’s location; and how to minimize false reports to improve response time. This campaign also aims to promote ambulance services and expand the reach of awareness efforts to include all society segments; to acquaint them with the importance of the community ambulance, in line with the Federal Government’s vision to reduce response time,” Captain Yusuf Al Ka’bi continued.

Captain Yusuf Al Ka’bi explained: “The campaign will focus on the topics of accidents. It will acquaint trainees with the optimal ways to check a patient’s condition, secure respiratory tracks, manage fractures and bleeding, handle instances of choking, and how to avoid any complications by immobilizing the patient’s spine. We will also educate workers on how to call for an ambulance and provide an accurate location of the accident. They will also be introduced to ways of assessing the condition of the injured individuals, keeping them conscious, and how to handle fractures, burns and choking accidents.”

The campaign will also address household incidents and preventive measures, how to reduce risks, handle incidents should they occur, and how to call for help in different cases of household accidents. The campaign will explain the steps of calling an ambulance, and will additionally focus on health conditions and how to handle cases of heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. First aid for children will also be addressed within the campaign, to emphasize the importance of performing life-saving first aid in accidents that may involve children.

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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts
The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department
Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com

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