Imphal, Sept. 24: Manipur has become the first state in the country to respond to a request by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to conduct a programme on basic emergency care.

A four-day training programme on the subject was jointly organised by the Manipur unit of State Health Society and National Rural Health Mission, Manipur, in Imphal.

A five-member medical team from the AIIMS trauma centre held the course at Classic Hotel in Imphal from September 20 to 23 and each session lasted six hours.

Altogether, 108 individuals from various professions turned up for the course, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical personnel, police personnel, NCC cadets and fire fighters.

The team trained participants on how to attend to victims in a disaster or mass terror attacks, road accidents, electrocution, drowning, choking of the windpipe by fish or meat bones or any other object, and snake bites.

The director of the programme, Dr Sanjeev Bhoi, said, “Of the 108 participants, the AIIMS team selected 16 people as master trainers. These master trainers would train more people from all walks of life, including villagers on how to provide pre-medical-hospital care and life saving skills.”

“We have designed this project. We wrote to all the state governments for conducting such courses two months back. Manipur is the first state to respond to the programme and hold the course. We appreciate the Manipur government’s quick response,” Dr Bhoi said.

After Manipur, six other states, namely Punjab, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Lakshwadeep and Chhattisgarh responded to them.

The project officials, however, are yet to decide on the next venue of the course.

“We will chalk out a calendar programme and follow it. At the moment, we have not decided,” said Nirmal Thakur, spokesperson for the team.

“The basic idea of the course is to save victims of accidents, disasters, drowning, snake bite and most other emergencies or accident situations. Many people die before reaching hospitals as there is delay in giving first aid or pre-medical care. If people from all walks of life are equipped with the knowledge of life saving skills, many lives could be saved,” Dr Bhoi said.

He said throughout the country, one person died on the road every six minutes.

P.K. Jha, mission director of National Rural Health Mission, Manipur, said, “Manipur records a large number of deaths every year because of road accidents or other reasons. Hence, the government decided to respond promptly to the programme. We will continue to hold such courses in coordination with the AIIMS team in the future.”

Though the exact number of road accident deaths could not be available immediately, officials said the casualty was high every year.

The AIIMS team is expected to revisit Imphal later this year.