In first in India, WHO starts training for mass casualty management at AIIMS

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], October 1 : The WHO Academy Mass Casualty Management (MCM) has started a Training of Trainers (TOT) Programme for Emergency Units Preparedness and Response for the first time in India at the All India Institute of Management Science (AIIMS) trauma centre here in the national capital.
WHO academy has developed the Mass Casualty Management programme for frontline healthcare staff working in emergency units, like doctors, nurses, logistics support, staff, management and technicians.
According to Professor Kamran Farooque, Chief, JPNATC AIIMS trauma centre, WHO patented mass casualty case, "This is Patented Mass Casualty Course which will be useful during situation like Mass Casualty that hospital should have to handle mass casualties. So, that maximum lives can be saved. This team have experience from Somalia, Iraq etc and various other countries. Our vision is the faculty that will be trained here at AIIMS trauma centre will provide training all over the country in hospitals and medical institute's."
"This course will be for five days that includes three days for course and two days for training, faculty from other AIIMS is also participating," he said.
Dr Harald Veen, Course Lead, Mass Casualty Management Course, WHO EMRO said, "It's not possible to give treatment to every patient who is at risk of losing life, it's for exceptional situations of mass casualties. During situations like Mass Casualties choices have to be made that how to utilise available resources, how to use those resources who need it most.This is for exceptional situations ,where hospital really has to change their normal patients management policy,mass casualty management model has been developed with international group of experts by WHO for the benefits of patients.We are very happy to be introducing such system in India and to take forward this mass casualty management."
"The purpose of the training is to enable hospital to give best training to the hospital when too many people are to be treated at the same time during a critical situation," he said further.
Dr Ali Mehdi Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Medical director, Kent and Canterbury hospital, UK explained, "If able to save life of even a single person is big achievement, we believe not only AIIMS but also in India this is a big event."
The participating team includes Participating AIIMS New Delhi,AIIMS Jodhpur, AIIMS Patna and AIIMS Jammu.
"After completing the MCM course based on the principles identified in this publication, learners should be able to evaluate the local situation to ensure that an "all hazards" approach is followed," states WHO.