Patience Akpuru
18 November 2008
Lagos — Lagos State Government, in its efforts to ensure effective emergency medical response in the state has commenced training and retraining of its health officers as well as members of the public in emergency response and management.
According to the state's Project Consultant on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Training Centre, Dr. Jonathan Odia, the Babatunde Fashola administration has demonstrated its commitment to the provision of good healthcare in the state through its investment in infrastructural and human resource capacity development.
In addition to the EMS training, the state has also commenced the training of nurses and midwives to reduce the high incidence of maternal and infant mortality in the country.
Showing newsmen round the training facility at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Odia said "analysis of data obtained from health ministries and NGOs in our country have shown that most of the cases requiring emergency action in and out of the hospital are those involving emotional shock and bodily injury (trauma) The deaths resulting from these occurrences could be avoided if victims are promptly and adequately treated."
Odia said that the project, which started earlier in the year will train 350 first responders, 285 clinical staff and 50 major incident medical managers and support supervisors, coordinators, local emergency personnel and top management staff within five months.
"The training centre has 10 well-equipped training rooms, consisting of four class rooms, one auditorium and five skill stations Bulk of the instructors of the centre are also licensed by international professional and examination bodies," Odia explained.
On the maternal care training, Odia said "the health of mother and child is paramount not only to the government and people of Lagos State, but also the concern of all, globally. This strategy is meant to provide health services as a continuum of care integrating preventive reproductive and child care, pregnancy, delivery, immediate post-partum care of the new-born and care of the young child."
He explained that the training programmes will help the state meet the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, by significantly reducing maternal and child mortality not only in the state, but in the whole country.
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