Rescue service training in Uganda

A third of the population in Uganda lives in the poorest of circumstances. This often means that medical help is not sought until very late and that people are driven to hospital on cab motorcycles. The reason for this is the lack of comprehensive, high-quality preclinical emergency care. The few existing state ambulances are very expensive for patients and usually contain neither medical equipment nor trained personnel.

As a result, many patients die due to delayed medical treatment. In order to improve this situation, Humanitarian Aid for Uganda Verl e. V. has established six rescue sites through financial and material donations.
Our trainers traveled to Uganda from October to December 2017 to train the volunteer rescue teams at these locations. The teams consisted mainly of nurses and midwives who spend their free time helping others and providing rescue services.

Some locations have only just been established and the local teams have had neither training nor experience. The training therefore had to be designed very flexibly and individually adapted to the respective location and participants, with the focus on structured patient assessment and the care of trauma patients.

After six weeks, a two-day workshop was held at the end. The teams from the different locations met there for the first time to get to know each other and exchange ideas. There were also training stations again and even a “mass casualty” exercise with more than 20 “casualties”.