A woman takes part in 'First Responder Training' at the Community Health Centre in Valpoi.
PANAJI
In a significant decision, the Directorate of Health Services has initiated a programme to educate and skill a larger population of the State with life-saving techniques, including CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), for infants and adults.
A first such comprehensive programme to train 'first responders' to emergencies was conducted on Wednesday at the Community Health Centre at Valpoi, the constituency of Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.
Apart from skilling people with these techniques, the idea is to improve the probability of saving lives in emergency situations, a senior official in the health department said. It will be conducted at community and primary health centres besides some of the government hospitals across the State.
Rane himself described it as a "mission" to enable more people to be equipped with skills to respond to emergencies and ultimately help save lives in the community. The minister, who has been pushing for a 'Goa model' in the health sector, took to the micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter) to explain the initiative.
"A comprehensive ‘First Responder Training’ was conducted for the people at CHC Valpoi. The primary objective of this initiative is to empower people with essential life-saving skills, and more, thereby increasing the chances of saving lives in emergency situations."
Rane further said the government is committed to go beyond the initial training and strive to educate a larger population across the State in the crucial life-saving techniques. He said, techniques like CPR for infants and adults, for treating burns, managing people fainting among others will be imparted in these programmes.
"By fostering widespread knowledge of these skills, our mission is to enable more individuals to effectively respond to emergencies, ultimately contributing to the goal of saving lives throughout our community," Rane further wrote in his post on X.
Over the past few months, Rane has been on a 'Goa Model' in the public health sector which encompasses some super-speciality treatment facilities within the ambit of public healthcare. In September while inaugurating the free In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment facility at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Rane had promised this 'Goa Model' will take full shape "within six months" even as he took a dig at the Delhi AAP government's public healthcare model.
"Many times in the area of healthcare, everybody talks of this so-called 'Delhi Model'. I am saying this is a 'Goa Model'. And, in this Goa model we are trying to reach out to the people of the State, trying to provide services to the citizens to bring a smile on their faces," Rane had said at the IVF facility inauguration.
Another initiative in the 'Goa Model', Rane has proposed in the robotics department at the GMC which will provide minimally invasive procedures and treatments for a wide range of ailments which is slated for inauguration on Republic Day next year.
