In an accident we often see that the victim does not get immediate first aid. Ever wondered why? The hard fact is that we do not know what to do and so we panic. We are certainly compassionate when it comes to our fellow human beings. None of us wants to see them die right in front of our eyes. But we watch helplessly because we don’t know what to do. And what’s worse, with inadequate knowledge we may sometimes worsen the situation as we try to help.
Today accident related injuries and death have become common. What is striking in all these is that there are a number of people just standing around, helplessly watching as victims breathe their last. We call ourselves human and humane stands for compassion and benevolence. Then why are we not helping?
This is not possible today because the ‘first responders’ on the scene have no knowledge of basic first aid or bleeding control techniques. In most of the cases of accident deaths, the victims could have been saved if their bleeding had been stopped in time. Uncontrolled bleeding for 5 to 10 minutes can lead to death and formally learning to ‘Stop the Bleed’ offers the only life saving solution.
Run to Stop is a marathon that aims to create awareness among the public on the importance of learning life saving skills that enable us to help during accidents. The event is organized in association with Dr. K. M. Cherian’s Charitable Trust and SAGA Charitable Trust both of which are non profit initiatives by doctors.
The idea was born as the ‘Stop the Bleed’ initiative launched by a team of trauma surgeons including NRI Dr. Mayur Narayan during an event at the White House. It is a short training program created and accredited by American College of Surgeons which has trained many common men to become lifesavers by empowering them with simple life saving techniques. NAEMT (National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians) which participated in the launch of this White House initiative has endorsed the Stop the Bleed campaign.
A Social Doctor is a person with basic first aid knowledge who can render first aid and stabilize a victim till medical care arrives. While the role of a doctor can never be replaced by another, we can all lend a helping hand till they arrive by taking this first aid course and learning life saving techniques. Dr. Mayur Narayan, Trauma Surgeon from renowned Weil Cornell University, USA will train the trainers and launch the program for the first time in Chennai.
According to Dr. N. Ramakrishnan, “We have come across many situations where a life could have been saved if only the first responder just knew very basic techniques like how to hold the accident victim, how to stop bleeding and perform Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). What is more tragic than a death by bleeding is one that could have been prevented. All it takes is a few hours of commitment to learn these life saving skills.”
He adds, “We are proud to have some illustrious persons supporting our effort. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Robert J Winchell, MD Professor of Surgery UT Health, Science Center (New York), Dr. Allison J Tompeck’s MD, Surgical Critical Care, Trauma Surgery, University Medical Center Phoenix (USA), Dr. C. Sylendra Babu IPS, ADGP, Railways, Dr. K. Thangavel, Principal, C. Kandaswami Naidu College for Men, Dr. B. Vijayakumari IPS, Mrs. S. Vimala Devi IPS, Mr. Vasanth S. Sai, Film Director, Mr. Surya, Actor, Mrs. Sneha, Actor, Mr. Prasanna, Actor and RJ Balaji, Actor for their support.”
TACT Academy for Clinical Training, which trains healthcare professionals and general public and SAGA Charitable Trust, a nongovernmental organization committed to ‘Training Lives to Save Lives’ have taken up the work of educating the common man to become a ‘Social Doctor’. TACT and SAGA will start offering ‘Stop the bleed’ training for the public on a regular basis after the marathon, details of which will be posted on their websites. Please check www.tactindia.com and www.saga.ngo for details.
