KARACHI: To create awareness among the public about a project, The Life Savers Programme, aiming to impart basic life-saving skills among the citizens to enable them to act effectively in cases of accidents and other emergencies, the Sindh health department organised a seminar at the EPI Hall, Karachi.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Health and Population Welfare Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho
said the department has launched the project in collaboration with the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
Director General Health Dr Irshad Memon, AKUH Founding Director Dr Junaid Razzak and Physician in Lead-Pakistan Life Savers Programme, Dr Noor Baig were also present.
It is a special project for average citizens under which they are imparted life-saving skills including resuscitation practice and knowledge.
The minister said the department aims at involving maximum number of people in the project.
Dr Razzak said the need for launching the project was felt because approximately 500k to 600k people die because of the absence of these skills among the citizens.
He said even those who survive emergencies are usually reduced to vegetative states because of the absence of these skills in the people who are present around them at a crucial time.
“We want to increase the survival rate in accidents and emergencies and even 1 percent increase in awareness about these skills could save 10 lives every day,” he said, adding that in the life-saving situations the first few minutes are the most crucial as during this time a patient could be stabilised before an ambulance arrives.
He said everyone in a house should know the emergency number 1122 to get timely help in case of an emergency, adding that staying calm in emergencies is also part of the training.
Another important factor in survival is stopping the bleeding, he said, adding that people need to know how to stop the blood loss of an injured person or at least reduce the bleeding.
He said the life-saving skills training course is only 2.5 hours long and so far first responders, police and schools have been provided this training.
He said so far 12,000 people have been trained under this programme, along with 250 master trainers in every district of the province.
The health minister said that to provide legal protection to the people coming forward to save lives in an emergency situation, the government will also enact laws, so that nobody should feel insecure while extending help to others in a crucial time.
