Emergency Medicine (EM) Day originated from the European Society of Emergency Medicine (EUSEM) and is celebrated every year worldwide by different cadre of health care workers involved in emergency medical services. The day designated for this celebration is the 27th May annually. It is a day set aside internationally to unite the world population and decision makers, to think and talk about emergency medicine and emergency medical care. Every year, a theme is generated to fulfill this agenda. This year’s theme was: ‘’ Your Safety - Our Priority”. Safety for patients who need care, attention and relief from pain and disease as well as safety for healthcare workers who need to have secure working places, reasonable working hours and good health.
In Ghana, the Emergency Medicine Society of Ghana (EMSOG) spearheaded a nationwide celebration. In Accra, the Emergency Medicine Department in the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) had an aerobics session as well as a Basic Life Support training for all attendees. The Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) also organised a virtual meeting to engage all their stakeholders. The Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) Emergency Department also had a merry celebration which included cake cutting.
In Kumasi, a home-based two week-long activity was drawn in conjunction with the Emergency Medicine Directorate of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). The activities organised included photo sessions, radio interviews, karaoke, first aid training, health walk, quiz and a football match. The details of these activities are described below.
ACTIVITES
The activities were divided into 3 main segments being the pre - EM Day, EM Day and post - EM Day activities. The details of each segment are as follows:
I. PRE - EM DAY ACTIVITIES
Speed Enforcement Drive
On the 19th May, 2023 a team of 4 personnel, made up of 3 doctors and a Nurse joined the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Central Police Station in a speed enforcement drive. The drive was part of a National Road Safety week campaign. At about 10 00hrs, we set off with the police towards the Santasi – Ahenema Kokoben road. The first team camped along the highway with a speed gun measuring the speeds of oncoming vehicles. The second team was about 300m away. The speed gun team fed information to the second team in real time and this aided the second team in stopping over speeding vehicles. Drivers that were driving above the speed limit 50km/h were stopped. Only those above 60km/h were processed. The highest speed recorded was 136km/h by a 4WD. the average speed was about 80km/h.
In attendance was the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, National Road Safety and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Bloomberg Philanthropists. Whilst the police stopped and processed offenders, these bodies seized the opportunity to educate road users on the consequences of over speeding. We partook in engaging road users and educating them on adverse effects of over speeding on their health as well as the health burden to society and the country at large. At the end of the 2-hour exercise, over 50 drivers were educated. The two teams regrouped and debriefed. A group picture was taken and all teams dispersed.
Radio Interviews
A series of radio interviews were held between 21st May and 27th May, 2023 to create awareness on EM Day, the theme and the lined-up activities. The first interview was at Otec FM on the 21st May where 3 representatives (Drs. H Owusu, A Afriyie and A Hammond - Mensah) of EMSOG from KATH spoke extensively on what Emergency Medicine is all about, why we celebrate EM Day and the activities that were planned.
The next interview was on the 25th May at Orange FM during morning show. Drs. L Nsoh, E Eghan and E Attafuah granted the interview. The same day a journalist from Angel FM interviewed Dr. S Osei – Frimpong and Ms. HD Ntow (Yellow Zone Nurse-In-Charge) in the Emergency Department (ED) on the EM Day theme and activities.
On the 26th May, 2 teams went out to Angel FM and Ultimate FM / Abusua FM to grant interviews. The Angel FM team comprised of Ms. A Damprane (EMSOG Vice President), Mr. Gyimah of NAS and Mr. D Bimpong (Nurse). And the Ultimate FM team comprised of Drs. S Osei- Frimpong, E Eghan, M Brenya and N Taylor and Mr JJ Okyere (Nurse).
The last interview was on the 27th May at Orange FM during the health lounge radio show, where Dr. P Andanye and Mr. E Acheampong (EMSOG secretary) educated the public on EM Day theme and activites.
First Aid Training
The first training was organized for the staff of Angel Group of Companies on the 23rd May, 2023 at their Kronum site. A team led by the Head of Department of the KATH ED trained about 20 staff in basic life support.
The second training was done for staff of Donyma Steel Company on the 25th May. Dr. E Attafuah gave a brief lecture on basic life support after which a 1hr hands on session followed. The team was fed lunch and returned to KATH.
Karaoke
A karaoke session was organized at the Disaster Block of KATH in the evening of Wednesday 24th May to help staff of the ED socialize and relax. Guests from other departments were entertained and there was enough drinks and popcorn to go round. People made merry by singing their favourite songs and dancing to familiar tunes. The program lasted for about 4hrs and was a success.
II. EM DAY ACTIVITIES
The climax of the EM Day was a health walk on the morning of 27th May. The starting point was the KATH ED car park at 7am. The walk took about 90 minutes. The route of the walk was as follows- KATH ED car park through the Military barracks gate on the Bantama side through to the Gee roundabout - Lebanon Astroturf – Pampaso - Adum then back to the KATH ED car park. The Abi Solo brass band provided music for the walk. Participants interacted with road users during the walk and held placards with various inscriptions. After the refreshing walk, breakfast was served while socializing went on, individual and group photographs were taken. The EMSOG President, Dr. D Osei-Kwame delivered a speech to mark the celebration.
In attendance were the Director of the MTTD and 11 of his men, representatives of National Disaster Management Organization, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, National Road Safety, National Ambulance Service and the 4 Medical Reception Station. Media entities from UTV, Kessben TV, Angel TV, Atinka TV and Metro TV were present to cover the health walk and interview dignitaries including the EMSOG and AFEM presidents.
III. POST EM-DAY ACTIVITIES
After the major celebration on the 27th May, a couple of activities followed to crown the occasion.
Football Match
A friendly match between the EM football team and the KATH doctors football team took place at 6pm on the 28th May at the Lebanon Astroturf. The game was an interesting one and the KATH team won at the end of the day. A rematch has been scheduled for a later date.
Quiz
A virtual quiz competition between residents of the KBTH and KATH was held on the 30th May via zoom. The quizmaster was in the person of Dr. Papa Kojo Mbroh from Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. Drs. Kwame Ekremet and Yakubu Hussein were the quiz facilitators in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital respectively. The quiz started a bit later than the 1030hrs and lasted about an hour. After 4 rounds, KBTH won by 5points. The winning team were prized a paid for lunch/dinner at any restaurant of their choosing.
Police training
The medical team in the Central Police Station clinic and Police Training School were trained in basic life support on the 29th May at the central police station conference room.