A call has been made for all first responders to be trained in cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic first aid.
It has come from Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, who has hinted that it is something he would like to see for the emergency agencies under his purview, and extended to include personnel of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and The Barbados Police Service (TBPS).
“It is important that our emergency workers are well rounded and ready for any eventuality that they may face in the line of duty. We don’t know who will turn up first and it should not be a case of rolling a dice to save a life.
“If I call emergency personnel, whoever gets there first should be capable of giving me or the injured person the best possible chance at surviving,” he said.
Mr. Abrahams was speaking during the 41st Passing Out Parade of Recruits at the Barbados Fire Academy in Arch Hall, St. Thomas, recently.
He made it clear that a person’s survival following an incident or accident should not depend on if personnel from the BDF or TBPS responded.
“I would love to see a situation where every member of our protective services, and every single first responder, every single emergency responder, is trained to save lives…. To be able to do CPR and bring back somebody from the brink of death,” he said, noting that Barbados could not afford for members of its emergency protective services to be one dimensional.
The Minister commended the BFS in partnering with the Barbados Community College to enroll recruits in the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) programme, and noted that other agencies had also started to follow suit.
He added that some of the 14 recruits received EMT training and were certified, while those who were not and other fire officers would be trained and/or retrained in basic first aid and CPR.
“When officers respond to an incident or accident they no longer just take the tools off the truck and start the process of extrication. They also begin the process of prehospital emergency care, giving the patient the hope of life and living to see another day.
“Officers are now more equipped to render first aid to their colleagues and their communities with skills that they can pass on to make their friends and families more resilient,” the Minister pointed out.
He told those present that emergency service personnel will have their skills put to the test as Barbados prepares to host games during the IOC Men’s T-20 World Cup Cricket 2024.
Mr. Abrahams stressed that emergency service agencies must, therefore, be in a state of readiness as thousands of people are expected to descend on the island to enjoy cricket.
“Visitors will expect our emergency services to respond as the need arises, and they will expect a high level of professionalism from our officers. That is one reason why officers need to train and retrain, and retrain and retrain.
“That is why officers must use all resources available to them and work together to reach that common goal of excellence,” he stated.