First aid in schools
Sakshi Khattar, TNN 20 July 2009, 05:18am IST Schools in India lack adequate medical infrastructure/facilities, which can lead to loss of life. The increasing competition in class has led to high stress levels, and consequently students are falling prey to physical ailments such as vertigo and asthma. The concern is whether schools are prepared to handle such cases and provide first aid till the time the child is taken to a hospital. Expressions India, an organisation that deals with life-skills education and school wellness programme, recently organised a hands-on orientation workshop on 'First aid approach to medical emergencies in schools' in collaboration with the National Science Centre. Teachers and nurses from over 65 Delhi schools attended the workshop. The common consensus was that a child is solely the responsibility of the school till the time he/she is in the school, and thus, ensuring their safety, not only in the school premises but also in the school buses lies with the schools. Teachers, on the other hand, feel that it's not feasible to remember each and every student's medical history, though they are aware of a few special cases. Geetanjali Kumar, a CBSE helpline counsellor, says, "Children are vulnerable to injuries and accidents. Usually, one comes across minor bruises but at times, children may face severe accidents resulting in fractures, bleeding, suffocation, fainting, acid burns or even drowning, and thus, first aid becomes all the more important as taking a child to a medical facility takes some time." According to Jitendra Nagpal, a consultant psychiatrist with Vimhans and co-ordinator, child-development and adolescent healthcare, every teacher should be equipped with first aid techniques so that he/she can handle basic emergencies in the classroom. "We need to look at health holistically, not ignoring the fact that one can also be a victim of psychological emergency," he says, further adding, "every school should have standard operating procedures (SOP) based on the school's requirements and teachers should be trained well in First Aid Response (FAR)." Satish Bharadwaj, director, Goodmans Rescue, a medical assistance company providing road and air ambulance services round-the-clock, says, "It is like disaster management in medication, and every teacher needs to be well trained." He adds, "Schools should ideally tie up with the closest hospitals to provide ambulances and other medical facilities in case of emergencies. Besides, it is the presence of mind that helps most and if one equips oneself with the basic first aid techniques, one can probably save a life." On the role of schools in emergency preparedness, he says, "The goal of School Emergency Response Protocols (SERP) is prevention, risk reduction and management. First aid preserves life, assists in recovery, and prevents further deterioration." One of the principals present reiterated that alert minds save lives. If an ambulance cannot be managed in time, one should make use of any vehicle available to take the child to the hospital and not necessarily wait for an ambulance.
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