QRCS programme boosts safety skills of Ministry of Culture and Sports staff

QATAR Red Crescent Society (QRCS) and the Ministry of Culture and Sports (MCS) have concluded a training programme to develop first aid and disaster response skills among the ministry’s staff.

Under the title of ‘Safe Youth Centres’, the programme involved two training courses aimed at raising public awareness about how to save other people’s lives and deal with emergencies. The two courses were instructed by the team of QRCS School Programme (Volunteering and Local Development Division) and health education (Medical Affairs Division). They are part of QRCS’s year-round agenda of specialised courses that educate the public, particularly the youth, about disaster preparedness/management, as well as to make them able to intervene properly in such cases.

In the first course, the participants were introduced to first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as life-saving techniques, the requirements and responsibilities of a paramedic, and the content and use of the first-aid kit.

The session also discussed the most common injuries in everyday life, such as loss of consciousness, wounds, fractures, burns, suffocation and other cases, with a demonstration of how to stabilise the affected person until medical help is available. The other course covered disaster management and risk reduction as a way to promote a public culture of disaster preparedness, the Sphere Project standards of humanitarian action and the main areas of field relief - health, water and sanitation, shelter and food.

Dr Ahmed Mohamed Edlibi, head of Health Education at QRCS, highlighted the role of young people and the importance of equipping them with the basics of first aid, being the first responders to emergencies in Qatar.

The country, he stressed, is hosting many events where the youth can contribute a lot in case of emergency, which will have a considerable impact on community health and safety. “Inspired by social responsibility, this programme seeks to disseminate the spirit of initiative to help others and save lives,” said Dr Edlibi. “Staying calm and avoiding panic are among the key skills needed for the youth to manage an emergency or give the victims health care in a sound manner.”

Four centres took part in the training programme: Al-Daayen Youth Center, Simaisma Youth Center, Al-Kaaban Youth Center and Qatar Scientific Club (QSC).

A total of 20 staff from the four centres were selected to attend the courses taught by experts from QRCS with accreditation from the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the American Heart Association (AHA).

The QRCS School Programme is an innovative scheme designed to train school students, teachers and administrative staff in disaster preparedness/response, risk reduction, first aid, health education and social harmony and integration.