THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Basic training in trauma care will be imparted to fifty per cent of the 42,000-odd police personnel in the state before November 15 as part of the “Smile” programme.
The Smile (Seamless Medical Intervention for Lifecare Emergencies) programme was launched by the Home Department in July 2014 to assist road accident victims. It has the technical support of the Health Department.
A planning workshop held at the police headquarters here on Saturday finalised the draft plan for the programme. It also approved the training schedule comprising 18 modules, including video tutorials and hands-on training.
“The modules cover human anatomy, collapse care, artificial respiration, spine care, safe transportation techniques etc,” said Mohammed Asheel, Smile nodal officer and state nodal officer of National Trauma and Burns Care scheme.
He said the training will equip the personnel to rescue victims of vehicle accidents and mass casualties. The workshop decided to give priority to personnel of the Highway Police, control room vehicles and bike patrol teams. Asheel said the first part of the project is to build a 50-member training team in each district.
Angels (Active Network Group of Emergency Life
Savers), a Kozhikode-based NGO, has been assigned to develop the team which would comprise doctors and nurses of the community medicine departments of Government Medical Colleges and police officials. The project also involves providing spine boards and life saving equipments to police vehicles. The estimated cost is Rs 1.85 core.
The Crucial Golden Hour
State Police chief T P Senkumar said the police personnel will transfer the life-saving techniques to the community. “The Smile programme will help to bring down the accident rate considerably as the police have a pan-state presence. But, in case of emergencies like drowning, the community should be empowered to ensure timely rescue,” he said. “While a majority of the road accident victims can be saved in the golden hour (the first hour after an accident), only minutes are available to rescue a drowning victim. 80 percent of drowning victims could be saved if proper first-aid is given,” he said.
