Tuesday, February 24, 2015
MEDICAL emergency team members tended to 149 patients yesterday during the 31st National Day celebrations at Taman Hj Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien (SOAS).
Speaking to The Brunei Times, head of Emergency Medical Ambulance Services (EMAS), Hjh Nora Hj Md Yusof, said that 14 of the patients were transferred to the hospital by ambulances. But she maintained that all cases were “manageable” and not serious.
As with medical emergencies handled by the team during previous rehearsal days, the bulk of cases yesterday involved patients suffering from heatstroke, low blood pressure or temporary respiratory problems, mainly because of patients’ existing underlying conditions like diabetes or asthma, or weak patients who had not eaten breakfast, said Hjh Nora.
According to Hjh Nora, some 400 emergency personnel – comprising paramedics, student paramedics, doctors, nurses, nursing students, technical and support staff, and volunteers from organisations such as the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and the Humanitarian Emergency Aid Response Team (HEART) – were deployed around the capital as part of the team responsible for tending to medical emergencies.
Volunteers from the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society (BDRCS)
The EMAS head said the medical team always aimed to improve every year and to fill in existing gaps as required.
For the first time this year, transport for emergency cases were available both on land and water.
“In previous years, we had nine ambulances around. This year, we added an extra two to make it a total of 11 ambulances stationed in strategic locations,” Hjh Nora said.
She added there were health clinics stationed at various vantage points – a main static clinic at Taman SOAS divided into two sections for males and females; one at the Royal Regalia area to facilitate the student drop-off area; one at the Dermaga Diraja (Waterfront) area to tend to the queuing parade participants; and one clinic manned by medical military members.
The team included an extra medical clinic this year to cater exclusively to royal guests where they were seated.
Medical Commander Dr Norazlina Suryani Hj Abd Rahman pointed out that the team had to be well-prepared as medical operations at Taman SOAS were different, compared to venues such as the National Stadium.
This is because the capital comprised of a “widespread area” which include locations like Edinburgh Bridge, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (YSHHB) Complex and Jln Kianggeh.
“The stadium is bigger but it’s a more confined area and we know the estimated number of people there, whereas people here (in the capital) are a lot more scattered,” she pointed out.
Hjh Nora added that the number of people yesterday far exceeded that of the rehearsals, with the addition of flag-wavers, tourists, and other guests.
Due to this, there were also two river ambulances on standby at the Waterfront to transport any potential patients to the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital.
Hjh Nora explained that such facilities were required as not everyone needs to be rushed to the hospital, as some medical cases were minor and could be treated on site.
“We have to think strategically about wider access, as there is no luxury of time during emergencies,” Hjh Nora said.
As with recent years, there was also a medical command vehicle to monitor and coordinate all radio messages and information that were shared through various radio channels by all the medical team members on duty.
“It’s like an information centre which coordinates and relays information to all medical personnel as well as the command post where members of the police force, fire and rescue department or military can be contacted to support us, if required,” Hjh Nora said.
She added the team needed such an “acoustic-oscillated” information centre which was away from the crowd and noise of the celebrations, so that all radioed messages between medical team members would not be missed.
“I am using an earpiece, but sometimes I might not hear all radio messages. The information centre acts as the eyes and ears for all senior officers so they can monitor, plan and coordinate for any medical emergencies,” she said.
Hjh Nora said that EMAS currently comprises close to 80 paramedics, who receive up to 600 medical emergency calls per month.
The Brunei Times
