MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — There is hope, among some of those with a front-row seat to the carnage on the country’s roads, that a programme that has already added 85 transport operators to the country’s pool of first responders will help save lives.

“First aid [training] says a man will understand how to stop bleeding [from] a laceration in an accident or that kind of thing. If the taxi operator — even if he is just passing by — is cognisant enough, he can step in and help to stop the bleeding until we arrive; so it is a plus in the system,” said assistant commissioner for the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s Area 4 Floyd McLean. He added that it will give emergency medical technicians (EMTs) a better platform to turn up at the hospital with healthier people.

President of Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS) Egerton Newman agreed, noting that taxi operators often get to crash scenes before medical teams.

“If you saw an accident this very minute, the ambulance and the police will be there 15 minutes later. In less than five minutes the taximan will be there with his taxi,” he said.

But being the first to arrive on the scene is only one part of the equation. Scenes of the injured being frantically extricated from the crumpled wreckage of a vehicle then crammed into the back seat of a car are not uncommon. Concerns have been raised that some injuries may be exacerbated when crash victims are being moved. The training provided to cabbies will address this.

“One of the reasons why we train them is that, when they move the victims from the wreckage, they don’t do it the right way,” said Newman.

Earlier in August a batch of 15 transport operators were trained in first aid and given certificates under the First Responders Blue Ribbon Education Programme. This, according to Newman, moved the total number of those trained to 85.

He explained that training lasted for five days and focused largely on first aid and CPR, but the road code and other aspects of safety were also taught during the sessions. Training is being offered at the parish level and the next stop will be Trelawny. The TODSS head told the Jamaica Observer that the well-designed programme has received strong support from both the fire brigade and the medical community.

“The first organisation to welcome the proposal when put to them was the fire department. They are happy for this, they help with the training of the taxi operators,” he said. “Our chief advisor in the programme is the president of the Medical Association of Jamaica Dr [Brian] James. He designed the programme.”

The hope is that this expansion of the pool of first responders will help save lives and take some of the pressure off those already in the system, like firefighters.

All firefighters receive first aid training while some pursue further training to become EMTs within the brigade. Their services are in high demand and some have complained that responding to crash scenes is taking an emotional toll. They have highlighted the lack of sufficient time to emotionally recover from crash scenes, being haunted by the sight of children victims, and the need for psychological support to cope with the trauma.

“The more people in the society that knows that kind of pre-hospital care is better for us,” said the Fire Brigade’s McLean. “We are not saying that all taxi operators have to be trained first-aiders, but… we would support the people getting first-aid training.”