Essikado-Ketan Prof. Dr. Ayensu-Danquah, a Member of Parliament, has proposed to the Speaker that measures be put in place to prioritise emergency medical services in order to provide first aid to MPs, staff, and others who use the House.
The renowned surgeon and academician proposes that the House form an emergency services team.
In a statement on the floor of parliament, she expressed her disappointment that no automated external defibrillator (AED) was available in any of the legislative House’s facilities.
An AED is a medical device that analyses the heart rhythm and administers an electric shock to victims of ventricular fibrillation in order to restore the heart rhythm to normal.
She expressed concern that without these services, anyone who experiences a cardiac arrest would struggle to survive.
The lawmaker stated that she is willing to train MPs, their drivers, and parliament staff in basic first aid services.
”Mr. Speaker, since I came into the parliament maybe about a couple of weeks ago, I have gone around the entire premises, and Mr. Speaker, I don’t see any emergency kits or any emergency services provided for us parliamentarians. I don’t see AEDs in the bathrooms or in the hallways, and the other day we also saw the former president’s ADC, who fainted in the chamber, and the way the ADC was actually carted away was actually not per standard of care, so Mr. Speaker, as a trauma surgeon myself, I would like to propose that maybe with your indulgence we have a committee that might even have emergency services so that we can walk the premises and see how best we can help ourselves in the room.
I also have an agency that we teach emergency services, which is advanced cardiac life support, which is what happens when people are having a heart attack or stroke. We also have the stroke care that maybe we offer some of these classes to our parliamentarians and not only just our parliamentarians but the staff as well as perhaps our drivers and maybe our house helps so that in case one of us is in trouble, at least there is someone who can perform first aid. proper first aid leads to decreased morbidity and all the studies have shown that.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
