Al Ghurair Foods together with the Dubai Ambulance Centre, Dubai Heart Centre and the Kindness Movement of the UAE is celebrating the World First Aid Day 2009.
More than 1200 employees will be participating in this internal campaign which will be held on 14th September, at Bur Dubai and 15th September, at their production facility located at the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The campaign is aimed at raising awareness of how first aid can save lives in everyday and crisis situations.
The theme “First Aid for Life†aims to articulate the importance of each individual’s actions in an emergency. Al Ghurair Foods aims to harness the capacity of its employees and believes that everyone has the potential to learn first aid and save lives with full respect for diversity and without discrimination. Al Ghurair Foods is committed to scaling up its first aid programmes and continues to enhance the importance of employee health, first-aid and safety within the Organisation.
The event unfolds with a presentation from Managing Director, Dubai Heart Centre Dr.Rajan Sadanandam, who will share light on the Importance of Safety and Prevention. Dubai Ambulance Centre, Emergency Medical Technician Instructor Alia Shrokh will highlight the importance of first aid and safety and address the causes associated related to injuries and provide preventative action. Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation demonstrations, simulation of situations, bandaging, interactive first aid for employees and a display of what is included in first aid kits will also be presented at this platform. Nawar Al Daas, Chief Executive Officer, The Kindness Movement of the UAE will educate employees on the concept of ‘In Case of Emergency (ICE) and its benefits for all. Employees will also receive ICE leaflets on this occasion.
Comments Chief Executive Djamal Djouhri, “These activities reflect the core values of Al Ghurair Foods of nurturing the health and safety of our staff. This is part of our commitment in steadily and significantly expanding our employee welfare initiatives and recognizing the significance of First Aid as a life saving tool. This is also an opportunity for our staff to learn vital skills that enable them to provide first aid if and when requiredâ€.
“First aid training not only helps in emergencies,” says Dr.Rajan Sadanandam, Dubai Heart Centre “it also helps prevent injuriesâ€. When people take first aid training, they reduce their risk of getting injured by as much as 40%, because they become aware of potential dangers and learn to avoid them.”
“First aid used to be recognized as the domain of medical or para-medical personnel. Today, all experts recognize that even the lay man must be trained in first aid, because it is effective in saving lives, improving the chances of survival and minimizing the consequences of a road crash or heart attack,†explains Emergency Medical Technician Instructor Alia Shrokh, Center of Ambulance Services. “These skills should also be updated regularly.â€
“We have launched ICE (In Case of Emergency) targeting every person in the community; it is a simple idea which would save lives and we want ICE to be the first step in First Aid. Taking part in the First Aid Day with Al Ghurair Foods is a great opportunity for us to reach out to the corporate sector and introduce ICE as a prevention measure which would help both people and relevant authorities reduce the time needed for medical intervention and assistance in cases of emergenciesâ€, adds Nawar F.Al Daas, Chief Executive Officer, The Kindness Movement of the UAE.
Al Ghurair Foods conducts regular first aid training sessions and currently have first aid certified staff on board. Apart from this, regular mock fire drills, near misses reporting, first aid seminars and articles educating staff on health and safety awareness are published in its quarterly newsletter ‘Tawasul’.
The International Federation introduced World First Aid Day in 2000, and each year, more than 100 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world organize events and ceremonies on the second Saturday of September to raise public awareness of how first aid can save lives in everyday and crisis situations.
For further information or to set up interviews, please contact:
Sameera Fernandes
PR & Communication Manager, Al Ghurair Foods
Tel: 04 3120401Â Â Â Mobile: 050 563 5522
Email: sameera.fernandes@al-ghurair.com
