Govt to teach first aid skills in case of emergencies

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In anticipation of emergencies -- such as fires, flood and bomb attacks -- the government will provide basic first aid training within communities, says a minister.

"All communities should know what to do when they are faced with natural disasters. In an attempt to minimize victims and losses, firstly, they have to be able to identify what kind of disaster they are facing," Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said on Tuesday.

According to the minister, many people panic and do not know what to do in emergency situations.

Training to face such conditions is much needed to help the people living in both in rural and urban areas, he said, adding that this will be conducted by government institutions.

"There are three important steps that must be taken in dealing with emergencies: First, revive or keeping the victim alive; second, review, identifying the injuries; and third, taking the victims to hospital for medical treatment," said Suyudi.

"Reviewing is done by medical practitioners because this usually requires further skills. But, ordinary people could do the first step at least," he said.

Aside from establishing communities proficient in first aid, the minister also said that communities should build networks, including with hospitals, ambulance services and the nearest police office.

"In Jakarta, there has been a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Health, Jakarta city administration and hospitals on handling natural disasters or other emergencies," said the minister.

He cited the case of the JW Marriot Hotel bombing, saying that ambulances arrived just three minutes after the blast on Aug. 5.

"Fortunately, the hospital is quite close to the hotel and the traffic was not so bad, so the ambulances got there quickly," he said.

He only regretted that ambulances attending the victims of the Bali blasts took 42 minutes to arrive at the scene.

Dr. Kuning Atmajaya who was involved in treating the blast victims at the Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar, said the crowded location and congested traffic caused the delay.

Tri Wahyu Murni, a surgeon from the Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in Bandung -- and also the spokesperson for the recent 10th International Symposium on Shock and Critical Care -- said the ideal number of ambulances is one per 5,000 citizens.

"For Indonesia, one ambulance per every 10,000 citizens would be good enough. In Bandung, with a total citizenship of 4.9 million there are only 28 ambulances, all owned by hospitals. In Jakarta, with about 10 million people, there are only about 400 ambulances," she said, concluding that the number of ambulances is not proportional with the population here.

According to her, those in the public service, such as policemen, security officers, and firefighters should also be skilled in first aid.

"In most cases they are the first people to arrive at the location and they might be able to save the victims' life, or at least alleviate their sufferings," she said.