On-site simulation, basic life support for water accidents. — Photo courtesy of BNH Hospital

BANGKOK — An ambulance trying to get out of a traffic jam is quite common, and despite efforts of drivers to accommodate it, it is not easy in a traffic jam.

If it is only an unoccupied ambulance, it is not critical, but what if a patient in the ambulance is in critical condition and immediate medical assistance is required?

While trying to figure out the best solution on how the medical/physician team will be able to get to a patient in the shortest time possible and be transported to the hospital to save their lives, solving the traffic problem seems unrealistic. However, it leads to the idea of transforming an ordinary person to be a first responder through a launch of BNH SOS@Hotel project.

The first responder is capable of providing immediate medical assistance before a patient gets to see a physician.

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Dr. Nopparat Panthongwiriyakul, deputy hospital director, BNH Hospital, explained the background of this initiative.

Learners practice a bone fractures diagnosis and treatment at the lassroom Workshop. — Photo BNH

In the past, there has been significant loss of life where lifesaving procedures could not be provided in time or if medical assistance has been provided, some loss and damage still remains as a consequence. That is, unless an ordinary person has the knowledge and capability to provide lifesaving procedures through Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) or first aid and basic life support to prevent the severity of blood loss prior to receiving medical procedure by a physician.

Therefore, BNH Hospital has geared toward the launch of BNH SOS@Hotel project where the development of intensive first aid and lifesaving training curriculum were developed to improve the capability of performing basic medical support when encountering a life-threatening incident, he said.

The content of the curriculum consists of theory and workshop sessions with an examination through a role-play which requires everyone to participate based on their roles, that is of an emergency medicine physician and nursing staff who are on standby, while the hospital healthcare professionals facilitated and closely monitored the procedures during the sessions. More importantly, the core objective of the training is "giving unconditionally".

"When the curriculum was ready, we started our first phase by approaching and presenting this initiative to the hospital alliance, hospitality sectors in Bangkok, which has received positive feedback and has eventually become the title of the project," he added.

Learners attend the classroom theory session. — Photo BNH

Dr. Nopparat further explained, "Our objective is to train hotel employees to be the first responders in providing medical assistance and also to share the knowledge among their network. Since a hotel is the main hub for receiving international tourists, implementing the BNH SOS@Hotel project among hotel employees has received great attention from hospitality sectors. In addition, hotel employees not only get a chance to improve their capabilities, it also provides a comfort to hotel guests that in the case of emergency, the well-trained first responder is available immediately."

From the beginning of the project until now, BNH has joined hands with 125 members of SOS@Hotel from more than 60 hotels. Feedback of the project is very positive that leads to an establishment of SOS@Hotel group to establish a network among SOS members for an ongoing communication, particularly during an incident.

In addition to the training course, BNH Hospital's vision is also to enable ongoing support to the first responder who may require further support from the team. Participants are recommended to download a newly developed application, SOS@Hotel application. SOS@Hotel members can send an alert to the Emergency Room when encountering an emergency situation for further support on an advice and a decision which may be required while providing CPR or other basic life support to a patient. The BNH hospital and SOS members are connected 24/7.

"When there is a need for SOS members to perform to their capabilities in handling emergency case, we are always here for them through the application. When the alert requesting for help appears, the emergency team will be able to identify the location of the incident and can contact an SOS member to provide further support and send an emergency team comprising a physician and a nurse with an ambulance to transport a patient to the hospital. This is a key support to reassure the team of providing emergency support to a patient in need," Dr. Nopparat added.

"The BNH Hospital is currently working toward expanding the project to other potential groups who can become the first responders, for example, schools, private sector organisations, etc. Our main objective is to develop and establish a supply of well-trained SOS member to the Thai society and as many as possible to reduce potential of loss of life. They should be able to provide timely medical assistance which can save lives," he said in conclusion.