By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu
Enugu State government has kicked off training of personnel of the State’s Traffic Management Authority (ESTMA) in the vital area of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
This is in a bid to ensure that proper first aid and emergency response are provided in case of road accidents in the state.
The training, which took place at the Ministry of Transport, was designed to be repeated biennially to educate the first aiders and responders to road emergencies on the basic knowledge to curb unwarranted deaths.
Trainees will, at the end of the six-hour exercise, be issued certificates that would add value to their careers both in and outside the civil service.
State Commissioner for Transport, Dr Obi Ozor, flagging off the training, commended the State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, for giving approval for the assignment.
He urged the participants to take it “very seriously” as the training would aid their promotion in the civil service and also support them as individuals, as it would equip them with necessary skills to save lives during any emergency wherever the need arises.
Ozor said that the ESTMA officers from the Transport Ministry are usually the first responders whenever an accident or emergency occurred, stressing that the training is part of the mandate by the governor to ensure that all the Ministry’s staff on the road are equipped to deal with emergencies they face on a daily basis.
Special Adviser to the governor on Health, Dr Yomi Jaye, earlier in his speech, acknowledged that one must not be a medical doctor before rendering first aid or needed medical assistance during emergencies.
He described the training as a standard level training for participants.
Dr Jaye added that his office has the mandate to always organise a refresher training, noting that the exercise would help reduce mortality rates across the state as there must be a responder around the emergency scene in order to avoid preventable deaths.
