KOZHIKODE: In the wake of the death of Shahala Sherin, the 10- year-old student who died after being bitten by a
snake inside classroom, the
Wayanad district authorities along with various government departments have launched an ambitious programme under which all the 80,000 students in high school and higher secondary classes in the district will be provided training in
basic life support (BLS) to enable them respond effectively during emergencies.
The programme was inaugurated by IC Balakrishnan MLA at a function held at the Assumption High School at Sulthan Bathery on Thursday.
District collector Adeela Abdulla said that the project aims to equip the students to provide basic first- aid so that they can save lives by timely action during unexpected exigencies.
National Health Mission district project officer Dr B Abhilash said that under the BLS training, students will be provided training in CPR, artificial respiration, how to provide first aid in the event of snakebite,
dog bite, other accidents etc.
The project is christened Aardhra Vidhyalayam and is implemented by the district administration in association with National Health Mission and with the cooperation of general education, LSGD, health department and NGOs.
The project assumes significance as there have been allegations of delay from the part of school authorities in providing timely medical treatment to Shahala.
As many as 200 volunteers from the health sector apart from selected teachers from the 303 schools in the district will be provided three days training in BLS to enable them become master trainers. These master trainers will provide training to the school students. The training for master trainers will be provided by the North Paravoor based voluntary organisation Help for Helpless education and charitable society, and a team from WIMS medical college, IMA and KGMOA.
Also around 1000 students selected under the ongoing student doctor cadet project in the district will also be provided the three day BLS programme to make them master trainers.
The BLS training for students will be given in 1500 sessions which will be completed within one and a half months.
In the second phase a health corner will be set up in each school which will have first aid box, special table which can be used as stretchers, cooler etc. Also a doctor located close to the school will be designated as a `buddy doctor' who will provide direction on emergency situations. The doctor will
"It is estimated that in a school with over 3000 students, there could be around 50 instances where children complain of issues that require medical attention. Also since the district has high forest cover, instances of
snake bite and human-animal conflict are also high," Dr. Abhilash said.
In the future the PTA can consider posting a staff with general nursing training, he added.