There have been a few instances in the recent past when delay in the arrival of ambulance/medical assistance to scene of fire or road accidents led to public agitation.
On one occasion early this year, an angry mob, protesting delay in the arrival of medical relief during a fire accident in north Chennai, damaged an ambulance and almost roughed up rescue personnel.
In an attempt to ensure availability of first aid at the earliest and make optimum utilisation of the Golden Hour (first one hour of a trauma), the Chennai Suburban Police had embarked on a mission to provide first aid training to all traffic police personnel.
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Experts from the GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) were roped in to impart practical training on various aspects of rendering first aid. “The focus was more on the methods of handling persons injured in accidents. About 600 police personnel in different ranks have undergone this training. We have already exposed our Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors to first aid,” Suburban Commissioner of Police S.R. Jangid said on Friday.
Considering the traffic scenario and the vast spread of Chennai suburban area, delay in ambulances reaching certain places had become inevitable. Since traffic police were deployed along all major routes, it would be easy for them to reach any scene of disturbance within a few minutes.
“The government has sanctioned three ambulances which we have stationed at Poonamallee, Avadi and Madhavaram. Besides men trained in first aid, the vehicles will also be equipped with wireless connectivity. Our objective is to make sure that death or permanent disability is not caused due to lack of timely medical attention,” he said.
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