Rescue 1122 trainers fail first aid course, Edhi officials pass

LAHORE: More than 30 officials/trainers of Rescue 1122 failed to pass Emergency First Responder (EFR), basic first aid course, Pakistan Today learnt on Sunday. On other hand all staffers of Edhi Ambulance Service, who are considered as less trained and less educated, scored good marks and passed the course.
Rescue 1122 sources told Pakistan Today that about 50 rescue officers/trainers and four staffers of Edhi Ambulance Service took the course.
Sources said the course was designed on the platform of Disaster Relief for Irish and Pakistani People (DRIP) to educate and train officials of different rescue organization including Rescue 1122, Edhi Ambulance Service, University of Health Sciences (UHS) and Civil Defense.
The five-day course started on November 27 at UHS where an Irish trainer imparted training to 54 staffers of Rescue 1122 and Edhi. Rescue officials/trainers including Rescue 1122 Master Trainer Dr Ali Imam, Dr Farma, Ibrar Ahmed, Humaira Liaqat, Naeem Murtaza, Dr Imran, Dr Waseem Hashmi, Nauman Noor and others attended the course.
Sources said only five officials/trainers of Rescue 1122 managed to pass the course in the end while the remaining failed. Sources said the Irish trainer showed concerns about the professionalism of Rescue 1122 and complained to DRIP General Secretary Dr Khurram Shahzad about the non serious behavior of Rescue 1122 staffers.
They said according to the Irish trainer, staffers of Rescue 1122 were found skipping classes, leaving classes early and taking extra time for lunch. DRIP’s coordinator for Punjab Haq Nawaz Bharwana said the course was held to increase the ability of rescuers while handling emergencies. He said earlier 13 Rescue 1122 officials not only passed this course but now they were also training along with Irish instructors.
He however said that couple of months ago foreigners visited training academy of Rescue 1122 and pointed out few laps in training after which Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer decided to increase the capacity of Rescue 1122 trainers. “Rescue 1122 officer’s competency was exposed after their comparison with international rescue agencies,” sources said.
Sources said about two months ago several officials of Rescue 1122 also failed pass the exam of Cardiac First Responder Course (CFR). Dr Rizwan was not available for comments.