<<Print>>

Mr Tony Kwame Apedzi, Chief Executive Officer of the Saint John’s Ambulance, Ghana (SJAG), has appealed to emergency medical providers across the country, to train their drivers and ambulance operators on the tenets of Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

He noted that as emergency service providers, an ambulance could be called upon to do inter hospital transfer, or transfer a patient from one facility to the other, hence the need for them to be abreast with all the needed knowledge in EMS.

Mr Apedzi made the appeal at the launch of a two-week training workshop for ambulance drivers of the Foundation for Orthopaedic Complex Spine (FOCOS) Hospital in Accra.

He said the training was to aid participants learn the proper use of equipment in an ambulance, how to render good ambulatory services to patients, and how to have basic knowledge in first aid, among other things.

“At first, nurses used to accompany drivers when transferring patients from one health facility to the other, but now it has some emergency services which allowed only the drivers to take the patients, hence the need to educate them on the tenets of EMS,” he said.

He expressed his appreciation to the National Ambulance Service, the Red Cross, the West Africa Rescue Association, and all agencies, which provided relief to help improve upon the health of Ghanaians.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Apedzi cited funding as the main challenge facing the SJAG, as the organisation did not have modern training equipment and ambulances for its branches in the regions.

Madam Florence Abekah, Administrator, FOCOS Hospital, expressed appreciation to SJAG for the education, which she said, would enable their ambulance operators to render proper services to clients.

She said the St. John Ambulance Ghana, which was established in 1937, had offices in the 10 regions, with about 3,100 volunteers nationwide, who were in various professions, including Medicine, Environmental Management, Transportation, Sports, Law, and General Business.

The SJAG, since its establishment, has been working as Emergency Medical Service provider, and has also been rendering Ambulance services.

She said the main focus of SJAG was to alleviate human suffering through the training and provision of First Aid Services, Care, Disaster Management Preparedness, Ambulance Services & Community Health and Youth Development.

“The Agency also renders First Aid and Ambulance services at workplaces, public and social gatherings,” she added.