I heard a crash and then a loud cry “Fire! Fire!” I was eight years old. The apartment in front of my house had caught fire. A pandemonium had broken out. The residents of the colony had come rushing to help. Buckets of water were brought forth. Within minutes, our quiet colony was struck with panic. But what left an indelible impression on my mind, was the site of a rusty fire engine crawling to the scene half an hour later. The delay could have cost someone’s life, but fortunately the heroic residents had already controlled the fire.
Almost everyone among us must have witnessed some incident or the other which bears testimony to India’s shameful emergency services. India recorded the largest number of road accidents in 2007. The crime rate is rapidly increasing and the threat of anti-social elements looms large. A large percentage of the ambulances do not even have oxygen cylinders. The current scenario calls for a dire need to revamp our emergency services, namely the police, fire services and emergency medical services.
So what can be done?
Firstly, a well functioning system needs to be established to tackle medical emergencies and disasters.Measures need to be taken to integrate the emergency services so that there are no delays by the fire and the police department to reach the site of the mishap. A positive development in this regard has been the conceptualisation of ‘108’ as the centralised emergency helpline by the Emergency Management and Research Institute.
Secondly, the emergency vans should be well equipped with life saving drugs, devices and trained paramedics. The Govt. also needs to tackle the lack of trained paramedics by setting up institutes for the same.
Ultimately, it is the quick action of the people around the victim that makes the difference between life and death during a disaster. I think it is imperative for the Government to incorporate a compulsory course on crisis management supplemented with practical demonstrations in schools across the country.
We as individuals first need to be aware about the basic first aid techniques. Once we have sufficient knowledge, we can create awareness by conducting workshops in schools and colleges. Several people and organisations have taken initiatives in this regard.
One story particularly caught my attention. Shook by a set of tragic events a group of 5 friends started a life support ambulance service called ‘1298 Dial for Ambulance’ in Mumbai in 2005. It has saved more than 50,000 lives in Mumbai. Supported by several corporate houses and NGO’s, 1298 has expanded its network, initiated first aid workshops as well as started a woman’s helpline. If more such people come forward it can completely change the face of India’s emergency services.
Almost everyone among us must have witnessed some incident or the other which bears testimony to India’s shameful emergency services. India recorded the largest number of road accidents in 2007. The crime rate is rapidly increasing and the threat of anti-social elements looms large. A large percentage of the ambulances do not even have oxygen cylinders. The current scenario calls for a dire need to revamp our emergency services, namely the police, fire services and emergency medical services.
So what can be done?
Firstly, a well functioning system needs to be established to tackle medical emergencies and disasters.Measures need to be taken to integrate the emergency services so that there are no delays by the fire and the police department to reach the site of the mishap. A positive development in this regard has been the conceptualisation of ‘108’ as the centralised emergency helpline by the Emergency Management and Research Institute.
Secondly, the emergency vans should be well equipped with life saving drugs, devices and trained paramedics. The Govt. also needs to tackle the lack of trained paramedics by setting up institutes for the same.
Ultimately, it is the quick action of the people around the victim that makes the difference between life and death during a disaster. I think it is imperative for the Government to incorporate a compulsory course on crisis management supplemented with practical demonstrations in schools across the country.
We as individuals first need to be aware about the basic first aid techniques. Once we have sufficient knowledge, we can create awareness by conducting workshops in schools and colleges. Several people and organisations have taken initiatives in this regard.
One story particularly caught my attention. Shook by a set of tragic events a group of 5 friends started a life support ambulance service called ‘1298 Dial for Ambulance’ in Mumbai in 2005. It has saved more than 50,000 lives in Mumbai. Supported by several corporate houses and NGO’s, 1298 has expanded its network, initiated first aid workshops as well as started a woman’s helpline. If more such people come forward it can completely change the face of India’s emergency services.
_________________
The Author is a IIyr Economics Honours student and an Executive Team Member of DevelopmentChannel.org
No comments:
Post a Comment