Participants in a five-day training in Accra for health and safety officials of mining enterprises, Monday called on the health/safety departments of these companies to deliver free first aid training to members in their operating communities.
Dr Kwame Apedzi, the Chief Executive Officer of St John Ambulance, said those trainings would help to prepare the communities for any emergency. “With the disaster happening around us at home, workplaces and in the communities, I wish to appeal to the health and safety departments of the various mines to play a unique role in considering pro bono first aid training for selected people in communities around you,” he said. “That will also serve as your corporate social responsibility to your catchment’s communities,” he said.
Dr Apedzi said ongoing research was improving technology and procedure in healthcare delivery and it was appropriate for the officers to update their knowledge through research to be abreast of new ways of doing things to conform to global standards.
“As we already know, we must help prevent accidents and also stand in readiness for any medical emergency,” he said. “So, we need to update our knowledge to help us all in the new procedures to practice your profession, hence this training.”
The St John Ambulance had evaluated the freshly issued 11th Edition of the First Aid Handbook, and the training was opportune for the organisation to share the latest ideas with the officers to operate effectively, he said.
He lauded the Ghana Chamber of Mines for its assistance in organising a first aid competition for all mining health and safety personnel, with St. John Ambulance serving as the judge.
Dr Apedzi encouraged organisations, such as the media, banking, and other manufacturing bodies to educate their employees on first aid. He asked the participants to act as ambassadors of health and approach the St John Ambulance for the necessary assistance in any problem that slowed their work. He commended the Chamber of Mines for donating 200 pen drives with St John Ambulance’s first aid pointers to the transport unions for instructional purposes, as part of its 85th anniversary celebration. “It is expected that the transport firms will show these first aid tips in their buses to educate passengers on what they are supposed to do during medical emergencies,” he stated. Mr Samuel Kojo Ansah, the President, St John Ambulance First Aid Trainers Association for the Mining Firms, urged participants to be positive about the training and improve their knowledge and skills.
He called for their representation on the Central Planning Committee to help steer protocol affairs for a collective approach to first aid education. Mr Alfred Abekah, the Head of Training, St John Ambulance, mentioned emergency management, unconsciousness, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), bleeding, fracture, spinal injuries, stroke, diabetes, seizure, and shocks as some of the topics to be treated.
Forty participants from about 12 mining firms are participating in the training, including Chirano Gold Mine, Newmont Ghana, Asanko Goldmine, Golden Star, Ghana Manganese, Anglogold Ashante, Future Global Resources, Adamus Resources Ltd, Perseus Mining Ltd, and the Underground Mining Alliance.
The mining companies in Ghana have robust standards against accidents, electric shock, burns, bruising, and heart attacks, which are among the common injuries in the industry. The Nzema-based Adamus Resources has been voted the current National First Aid Champion in the mining sector.
Meanwhile, St John Ambulance, founded on June 24, 1937, and sub-vented under the Ministry of Health, is celebrating its 85th Anniversary this year.