By Doris Obinna and Henry Uche
Truma Care International Foundation (TCIF) yesterday launched the Trauma Care Emergency Response Application Suit (TCERA) to boost pre-hospital care and post-accident management for trauma victims.
Senior Executive Officer for FCIF, Dr. Olajumoke Akisanya, at the launch in Lagos, said available data had indicated that delay in reaching trauma victims was responsible for permanent disability or death and that the Apps were designed to resolve this challenge.
She said the NGO had come up with TCERA Responder App and TCERA User App, and that they were specifically designed to connect victims of emergencies to volunteer first responders who he been trained, equipped and registered with TCIF volunteer first responder network.
Akisanya said the organisation had trained over 3,000 volunteers as first responders in Lagos State. At the Apps launch, TCIF inducted some of the volunteer responders.
Akisanya described the Apps as technological devices that contained maps, heath tips, lists of nearby first responders, hospitals, doctors, other medical professionals, ambulance services that could be reached on time by those in need of urgent or emergency medical attention. She said the App could be downloaded by the public from mobile phones and other gadgets and were user-friendly.
“The congestion on Lagos roads was one of the reasons we came up with the Apps to strategically train people as volunteers in communities, markets, streets, schools, churches, mosques, estates, etc so that they can be of help to victims as fast as possible before ambulances get to them due to gridlock on Lagos roads. This is a volunteer network; we are forming a consortium to ensure that help gets to people that are in need. People should be willing to be their brothers or neighbours helper. Our volunteers are not all medical professionals; but they know the right channels to bring help fast enough to victims,” she said.
She said the NGO was collaborating with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),Lagos State Ambulance Bus (LASAMBUS) and other related agencies to save lives as number of deaths owing to traumatic conditions was on the increase.
“With these two Apps, our first responders strategically positioned in every nook and cranny of the state, can be located easily. We want to reduce the rate of deaths owing to traumatic conditions, but everyone has a role to play,” she said.
