HEALTH: O'Ambulance Rescues 320 Accident Victims Per Month

Staff November 21, 2013

No fewer than 320 accident victims are being rescued on monthly basis by the government of the State of Osun through the O Ambulance scheme.
The General Manager of the O Ambulance Scheme, Dr Akinloye Adeleke disclosed this on Tuesday in Osogbo at the opening ceremony of a two -day capacity building workshop  organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with a United Kingdom South-East Coast Ambulance Service.
According to  Dr Adeleke, who described the O Ambulance scheme as a laudable initiative of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the service has greatly reduced loss of lives on the roads, as accident victims are being given first aid treatment by the O’Ambulance paramedics.
Dr Adeleke stated that the essence of the workshop is to further train the O Ambulance paramedics, who are drawn from the Osun Youths Empowerment Scheme (OYES) on effective accident rescue and emergency treatment.
He stressed that the workshop is aimed at developing the skills and efficiency of the paramedics, saying; “their efficiency is very important because they are dealing with lives.’
Dr Adeleke said about 400 paramedics are currently working in the O Ambulance service, while 92 of them, who are the first batch, are participating in the two -day workshop.
With the training, Dr Adeleke said the paramedics are expected to perform better, more confident and efficient.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Mrs Temitope Ilori said the workshop was to further enhance the output and service delivery of the O Ambulance paramedics.
Dr Ilori explained that the workshop is very important as there is need to continuously train and re-train the paramedics for better performance.
She said the purpose of the O Ambulance scheme is to enable the road users to feel safe on the highways.
According to her: “The O Ambulance scheme was launched in February and the OYES paramedics were trained to rescue accident victims and give them first aid treatment.
“We need to continue the training. We believe that continuous training will further enhance their service delivery hence we are collaborating with trainers from the ambulance service in the UK to organize the workshop. We also consulted surgeons and medical doctors from Nigeria for the training.
“The State government of Osun is committed to the reduction  of accidents on the highways in osun and save  lives as part of the cardinal plan of the governor.
“ The participants are expected to improve on their service delivery after the training. The government is also empowering the participants with the training, as the workshop will enhance job opportunity.”
Delivering a lecture on Organogram and Operational Strategy of an Effective Ambulance Service, a medical practitioner from the United Kingdom South-East Coast Ambulance Service, Mr Malcolm Finn, commended Governor Aregbesola for establishing the O Ambulance.
Finn described the scheme as an initiative of a governor that cares for the well being of his people. He however, urged the government to make the O Ambulance service a career for the paramedics, instead of being Ad-Hoc staff.
OSUNNEWS