Waiters to be at your service during golden hour

MUMBAI: “Even if I am able to save one life, it will mean everything,” says Feroz Shaikh, 22, a waiter from Hotel Dreamland near Kasara Ghat.

Shaikh is among the 700 restaurant waiters and shopkeepers along the Mumbai-nashik Highway who have undergone training to be the first responders to road accidents, under the Maharashtra Highway Traffic Police’s zero-fatality project.

Suraj, Niranjan, Vishal, Pramod, Sunil and Ravi from Hotel Sai Plaza in Igatpuri were also part of the batch .

“Earlier, we would witness accidents, but feel helpless then. This basic training will be beneficial and we will be able to save lives,” says 26-year-old Ravi Gupta.

According to the traffic police, they found that the stretch between Thane and Bhiwandi naka had witnessed more accidents compared to the stretch beyond the toll booth.

With this in mind, the police in collaboration with the National Highway Authority and an NGO, Resilient India, began a first-responders training programme.

“We had observed that the first responders in many cases would feed victims water, while they were unconscious. That was dangerous. We have now begun training waiters on how to handle victims until emergency vehicles can reach the spot,” said Rajeev Choubey, member of Resilient India.

“The first round of training has been completed,” says Choubey.

The police will also impart basic CPR and firefighting training to the 700-member batch.

Aditya Chaudhary, who owns a shop at Vashind Phata, was also delighted to be part of the project.

“We see accidents almost once a week on the highway. The police and ambulance do not come on time, which results in the loss of lives. We could just make a call to emergency services earlier, however, now we can do our part and save someone,” says Chaudhary.

Patil said that the golden hour — the immediate one-hour period following a traumatic injury — is crucial with major trauma centres in big cities.

“The victims are first taken to primary health care centres, which are not equipped to handle trauma patients. In the second round, we would also impart hazmat training in cases of oil spill or fuel tanker-toppling accidents,” says Patil.

After the second training session, the police will take a practical exam of waiters and shopkeepers, after which they will be given badges and be made a lifesupport volunteer.