Professor Kamran Farooque, Chief of JPNATC AIIMS trauma center, emphasized the significance of the WHO's patented Mass Casualty Course.

"This course will play a vital role in helping hospitals manage mass casualties, allowing them to save the maximum number of lives. The team leading this course has experience in countries like Somalia, Iraq, and others. Our goal is to train faculty here at AIIMS, who will then train healthcare professionals across the country in hospitals and medical institutes."

By Shalini Bhardwaj

New Delhi: The WHO Academy launched its Mass Casualty Management (MCM) Training of Trainers (TOT) Programme for Emergency Unit Preparedness and Response at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) trauma center in the nation's capital. This marks the first time the program is taking place in India.

The WHO Academy developed the MCM program to equip frontline healthcare workers in emergency units, including doctors, nurses, logistics staff, management personnel, and technicians, with the necessary skills.

Professor Kamran Farooque stressed the importance of the course, stating, "This patented mass casualty course will help hospitals handle mass casualty situations effectively, ensuring that they save as many lives as possible. The team behind this course has extensive experience in crisis zones such as Somalia, Iraq, and various other countries. We aim to have the faculty trained here at AIIMS provide training throughout India, reaching hospitals and medical institutions nationwide."

The course runs for five days, including three days of instructional sessions and two days of hands-on training. Faculty members from other AIIMS centers are also taking part.

Dr. Harald Veen, Course Lead for the Mass Casualty Management Course from WHO EMRO, explained, "During mass casualty situations, hospitals cannot treat every patient at risk of losing their life. They need to make choices about how to allocate resources effectively to those who need them most. This model, developed by an international group of experts, will assist hospitals in managing exceptional situations that require them to adapt their normal patient management policies. We are excited to introduce this system in India and to help advance mass casualty management here."

Dr. Ali Mehdi, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Medical Director at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, UK, added, "Saving even one life is a huge achievement. We believe this event is significant not just for AIIMS but for India as a whole."

Representatives from AIIMS New Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur, AIIMS Patna, and AIIMS Jammu are participating in the training.

The WHO mentioned that after learners finish the MCM course, they will be capable of evaluating local conditions and implementing an "all hazards" approach. (ANI)