First aid needed: Doctors

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 11/28/2008 10:49 AM  

Because many people injured in road accidents die on the way to the hospital, physicians have encouraged the public to learn how to administer basic first aid in emergency situations. 

"More victims of road accidents are brought to the morgue at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital than to the hospital's care unit," said vascular surgeon Suhartono. 

"More people die on the way to the hospital." 

Suhartono was speaking at a seminar held by the University of Indonesia's School of Medicine in Central Jakarta last week. 

The seminar was promoting a safer community by encouraging the public to learn the correct way to apply first aid in cases of emergency. 

Suhartono said traffic accidents were the most common cause of injury in the capital, compared to workplace and domestic accidents and fires. 

"About 90 percent of traffic accident victims are of productive ages. It is such a waste. We must not ignore it." 

He said it was important for everyday citizens to learn how to be medical aids and first responders in emergency situations. 

Without knowing about trauma, which might be experienced by victims, people at accident scenes incorrectly administer first aid. 

For example, people have the tendency to move the injured before checking for bone fractures and dislocations. In some case this can worsen the victim's condition and may even cause death. 

The skills required by people first on the scene include knowledge of how to call rescue teams such ambulances, the police and firefighters, how to correctly lift and moved a patient, how to free the victim's airway and how to stop bleeding by pressing on the wound. 

All of these skills can be taught, Suhartono said. 

"It can be done without any special equipment because that is just how most common people go about their business. They don't walk around carrying medical equipment, right?" 

The Foundation of Emergency Ambulance 118 was established by the Association of Indonesian Surgeons in the 1970s. It has been providing companies, security guards, teachers, firefighters, police officers, pilots and stewardesses workshops on first aid. 

However, not enough people know how to administer first aid, Suhartono said. "The skills are rarely regarded as necessities." 

Most people are also unaware of ambulance services offered by hospitals, the police and the city health agency. 

Less than 30 percent of patients at Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital were brought to the hospital by ambulance, Suhartono said. Most patients arrive by private vehicles, taxis and bajaj, he added. 

"It also shows that the ambulance services offered by those institutions are not up to scratch. 

"There should be clearer regulations for an integrated ambulance system," he said, estimating that a total of around 300 ambulances belonged to 140 hospitals throughout Jakarta, the city health agency, community health centers and government institutions like the Indonesian Red Cross. 

"There is no ambulance network among the different institutions. Sometimes, ambulances belonging to community health centers, for example, are used for administrative work rather than responding to emergency calls." 

To learn first aid, contact Yayasan Ambulans Gawat Darurat 118 (Foundation of Emergency Ambulance 118) on 021-65303118, 64717089. The foundation's office is located at Jl. Letjen Suprapto, Ruko Mega Grosir Cempaka Mas Blok I/6, Central Jakarta.