The Federal Capital Territory Administration has commenced a four-day Basic Life Support training for health workers from seven hospitals across the territory as part of efforts to strengthen emergency response and reduce preventable deaths.
The training, which began at the Conference Hall of Asokoro District Hospital, is being conducted under the National Basic Life Support Training Programme approved by the National Council on Health.
Health workers from Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse, Gwarinpa, Kuje, Kubwa and Nyanya hospitals are participating in the programme, which is certified by the American Heart Association.
Speaking at the opening of the training, the Mandate Secretary of the Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, said the initiative was designed to equip health workers with essential skills for responding quickly to medical emergencies.
She said participants would be trained to provide basic life-saving interventions before patients receive further medical care, noting that the programme formed part of the FCTA’s efforts to improve emergency services in government hospitals.
Fasawe added that the knowledge acquired by the health workers would also be shared with colleagues and members of the public through the National Community CPR Initiative.
“Our goal is to consistently record success stories from ‘no pulse to resuscitation’,” she said, stressing that timely emergency care would help strengthen public confidence in government hospitals.
The health secretary also disclosed that the FCTA was working towards establishing Code Blue Teams across hospitals in the territory to ensure that patients requiring urgent attention receive prompt intervention.
She said the Basic Life Support training would be extended to other hospitals in the FCT, while basic equipment and other resources would be provided to support emergency response and patient care.
Participants are expected to undergo assessments at the end of the programme, with certificates to be awarded to those who meet the required standards.
The Medical Director of Asokoro District Hospital, Dr Oluseyi Ashaolu, described the training as timely, saying it would help health workers keep pace with developments in emergency medicine and potentially prevent avoidable deaths.
The training coordinator, Dr Rosemary Nwokorie, a consultant anaesthetist, said the programme was being conducted in batches. She said the first batch held on August 21 and 22, while the second batch is scheduled for September 4 and 5.
Nwokorie added that the training includes a “Stop the Bleeding” course designed to teach health workers techniques for controlling severe bleeding in trauma patients before definitive medical treatment is available.
The team of instructors is led by Dr Onyedika Godfrey Okoye, a trauma surgeon at the Trauma Centre of the National Hospital, Abuja.
The FCTA said the programme is part of its broader strategy to strengthen emergency care and ensure that health workers across its hospitals are adequately prepared to respond to critical medical situations.
