48 join 2-week basic health care training

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2016/01/30/48-join-2-week-basic-health-care-training-454651
• Saturday, January 30, 2016

By Christine Joice C. Cudis

THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) teamed up with Japan and Canada for a two-week training on basic health care of 48 participants in Mindanao.

The training, which was funded by the Canadian Red Cross and supported by the Japanese Red Cross, produced 13 graduates who were trained to facilitate future basic health care (BHC) unit trainings while the other 35 were given training on how to operate the units.

BHC units will also be distributed to the 31 PRC chapters in Mindanao. It can accommodate up to 30 overnight beds mainly for diarrheal and observation cases.

It also comes with a pre-packed set of supplies or modules with the following capacity: outpatient curative, preventive mother and health care (MCH) services, simple delivery and community health with primary health care (PHC) education.

PRC chairman Richard Gordon said the training was aimed to ensure that the PRC will be able to provide immediate, basic, essential, curative, preventive, and community health care in emergency situations.

He added that it is important as most of the local medical facilities are insufficient or have been destroyed.

"We have to be prepared because we have a buffet of disasters in the country. We are also preparing for mass casualty incidents," Gordon explained.

He also said that in events where large crowds are expected, PRC will be able to deploy staff, volunteers, ambulances, rescue vehicles, basic health care units, emergency field hospitals, and others to ensure that immediate assistance would be provided.