The Department of Disaster Management has accomplished one of its goals to have a considerably large number of employees in the Anguilla Public Service trained in Basic First Aid services.
Director of Disaster Management, Ms Melissa Meade, presided over a certificate presentation ceremony on the grounds of the Secretariat on Tuesday, October 21, for the participants in the training.
She said that in 2013 her Department decided that basic first aid was a key component of its work and that such training should be provided for government workers as well as the volunteers attached to the Department of Disaster Preparedness. As a consequence, in 2014 the Department was successful in attracting funds from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Disaster Management Agency (CDEMA).
“We were able to obtain a certain amount of funds to train at least 175 workers of the government and volunteers,” Ms Meade said. “First Aid is something which can save a life. It is the first treatment given to someone in the even that they get sick. The training that all of you partook of allowed you certain skills that you will be able to give persons some help to save their lives while the ambulance services are on their way. We are therefore happy that we were able to obtain the funding to provide this training.”
Mrs Charmaine Rogers, Deputy Director at the Department of Public Administration, said “the Basic First Aid training course, sponsored by UK AID, Australian AID and CDEMA, and coordinated by the Department of Disaster Management, was both timely and significant.”
Mrs Rogers continued: “The primary First Aid training goal for every organisation should be to give employees the necessary tools and information that they need to care for an ill or injured person (in the workplace) until advanced help arrives. This training, which covered, among other areas, bleeding and shock, burns, head injuries, unconsciousness and choking, has sought to do that.
“First Aid training has a myriad of benefits. It tends to make employees more conscious of safety precautions. It can save lives in the workplace/away from the job. It can reduce the chance of permanent damage (eg timely flushing of the eyes with water after a chemical splash. It can prevent blindness and help to prevent an injury from becoming more serious (eg cleaning and bandaging a cut to prevent infection and all this can be done in the workplace by trained officers). First Aid training can also reduce loss of time from work and, very importantly, First Aid training provides employees with critical knowledge and the confidence to effectively manage an emergency without fear or confusion.”
Mrs Rogers expressed “profound gratitude to the Department of Disaster Management and the Anguilla Red Cross for the role that they played in coordinating and/or facilitating the training.”
She added: “I am sure that the Department of Disaster Management, with the help of the co-sponsors, will continue to invest in this type of training. It is important, therefore, to continue to encourage other officers to take advantage of this invaluable training, as we work together to ensure that the Anguilla Public Service commands the leading edge in workplace response to emergency situations.”
Red Cross Coordinator, Mr Ricky Rouphine, was grateful to the Department of Disaster Management for including his organisation in the First Aid training. He called for a continued partnership, among various agencies of government, business and community, with his organisations to deliver First Aid training to as many persons as possible – in order to ensure the safety of the Anguillian community.
