Daily Times

KASUR: An awareness walk was organised in Kasur today on occasion of the World First Aid Day by Rescue 1122, Pakistan Highway & Motorway Police (PHMP) and school students, who emphasised on the need for citizens to get first aid training.

The main purpose of this walk was to raise awareness among the community, drivers, commuters and public at large about the importance of their response to emergency situations, road accidents and any injuries that may occur during their routine life. The theme for 2018 was, “if there is a road crash, you could be the first player on the scene.”

Rescue 1122 Pattoki Region In-charge Muhammad Nawaz said that “it has been noted that most of the casualties occur when the patients do not receive emergency help in the first place. So, for this reason, the role of community and their training on first aid is necessary.”

Punjab Rescue and Emergency Services (Rescue 1122) officials said that the average response time to emergency situations was 7 minutes, however, it may vary depending on the place of accident and availability of the ambulance at that time.

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, 1.34 Million people across the globe and 2.69 percent Pakistanis die each year because of road accidents and the major cause of it was Anoxia (a state in which the airway is blocked).

In such a situation, a layman can give the first aid and save many lives. As per the statistics issued, 90 percent of global road accidents occur in low and middle-income countries. Road accidents are the 9th leading cause of death and developing countries like Pakistan face a cost of $65 billion in infrastructure and vehicle damage and to provide health facilities to the affected.