First aid is the assistance that is given to a person suffering from sudden injury or illness. Care is provided in order to preserve life, prevent worsening of the condition and promote recovery.
Necessity for first aid training
The Toronto Police Service’s is planning to equip thousands of police officers with naloxone kits, but first aid training is not up-date and no proper first-aid certifications. There are about 1,200 frontline officers with expired first aid certifications and another 1000 officers where their training and certification are about to expire.
According to Toronto Police spokesperson, it is required to undergo first-aid training in order to become a police officer and will require them to administer the opioid blocking medication. Proper first aid certification should be given importance which is part of the structured deployment of naloxone.
Naloxone is a drug that counteracts the effects of an overdose from opioids. The medication is injected into the muscles.
Timely intervention
It is quite rare for a police officer to be the first to respond to overdose emergency calls. According to the police chief, the police officers need additional training. It is a valuable tool in helping members of the public and to other police officers.
According to the president of the Toronto Police Association, there is no proper first aid training on the officers due to everyday workload. There is also shortage of staff and they are always stressed. The depletion of staff has put a strain on the police force and they were not able to take the time needed in updating certain training and courses. Usually calls from an overdose, police men are the first to respond to the situation and first aid experience remains critical when police are the first to arrive on the scene ahead of the paramedics and the firefighters. These officers have to provide first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation services personally. First aid is one of the fundamental pieces of what the police do in policing.
Pharmacies distribute naloxone to the general public and these people do not have medical training.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a first aid and CPR training class and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Basic-First-Aid
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/default.htm
https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-cpr/basics/art-20056600