Doha: In celebration of the World First Aid Day on September 13, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) organised a first aid training course for a group of its volunteers of both sexes and varied ages.
Held at QRC Medical Affairs premises and attended by 15 trainees, the ‘First Aid & Road Safety’ course involved an intensive all-day training program, from 9 am to 5pm — a total of eight training hours, including a break for lunch and Dhuhr prayer.
The course was instructed by an experienced and proficient group of medical trainers, including highly qualified and internationally certified physicians, nurse school faculty members, emergency medical technicians-advanced life support (EMTs-ALS), and anesthesia/recovery technicians.
It covered a variety of topics, including introduction to QRC principles; the basics of first aid, surface water rescue, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); how to deal with cases of suffocation, bleeding, injury, fracture, burn, epilepsy, poisoning, and heat exhaustion; and techniques of moving injured people.
Participants commended the course and highlighted the worthy information and skills that they learnt in providing initial response, minimising the impact of emergencies, and keeping the victims alive till the arrival of paramedics, if necessary — capabilities that will prove invaluable for their future lives.
QRC health education activities employ the latest training and scientific programmes accredited by major international institutions, such as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). QRC recruits an academically qualified coaching cadre that possesses the highest level of skills and proficiency in Qatar.
Since 2000, each second Saturday of the month of September is celebrated worldwide as the World First Aid Day through IFCR, reflecting its belief in the importance of first aid as the bottom-line healthcare fundamental that should be valued by all society members, should be accessible to all, including the most vulnerable, and should be an integral part of a wider developmental approach.
In such a remarkable international occasion, more than 100 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world organize events and ceremonies to raise public awareness of how first aid can save lives in everyday and crisis situations. This day is seen as an opportunity to offer first aid informative and training courses and to honor the volunteers who are active in first aid campaigns.
The Peninsula
