32 airport staffers complete First Aid and CPR training

Thirty-two persons gained valuable training in First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) last Friday at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) said in a press release Wednesday evening.

The training of the airport staff was conducted by doctors and student doctors from the American International School of Medicine (AISM) and was a collaborative effort involving the CDC,  the United States Embassy Humanitarian Assistance Programme (USHAP), and the CJIA.

According to the release, participants were divided into four groups and were exposed to the theoretical aspects of First Aid and CPR during the three-hour interactive session.  Each group was assigned as many as four medical personnel from the AISM. Participants were involved in  discussions on  the subject matter and shared  practical experiences during the one-on-one interactions.

This activity comprises the first of three phases of the training and  Phase Two will be held on July 6, taking the form of a practical session to reinforce the lessons taught and learnt during Phase One.

Phase Three is the review and evaluation of the participants and will be conducted on July 27 at CJIA. The course participants are expected to receive their certificates of participation at the conclusion of Phase Three, the release added.

The CDC said it is  heartened by the response of the management of CJIA toward this initiative and hopes that in future more personnel, spanning the aviation industry across Guyana will benefit from such training.

The initiative is aimed at enhancing the airport’s disaster response mechanism in the wake of the recent Caribbean Airlines accident in which one of its aircraft overshot the runway at CJIA and broke in two.

CJIA’s Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Ghir disclosed that the airport authority is in the process of organising follow-up training in other related disaster-related subject areas and the  setting up of a medical aide post and response team/unit at the CJIA is  being planned, the release concluded.