How to get prompt medical attention in emergencies

Imagine you are driving a car and you are involved in an accident in an inaccessible spot. Nobody knows your whereabouts. You can get prompt assistance through a novel medical response.


The medical emergency response, Crash Alert, was introduced by two organisations, Matrixtrack and Critical Rescue International, to reduce deaths caused by lack of prompt medical assistance during road accidents.

The Business Development Manager of Matrixtrack, Mr. Henry Ononiwu, explained the emergency response in an interview with our correspondent in Ikoyi, Lagos after the two firms signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the new technology.

The MoU was signed by the CRI's Head of Operations, Dr. Femi Orawusi, and the Managing Director of Matrixtrack, Mr. Don Okafor. Ononiwu said that the technology would enable subscribers to get prompt medical assistance in case of accidents.

Quoting the Federal Road Safety Commission's statistics, he said that between 1960 and 2006, 411,308 people were seriously injured in road accidents.

He said that 151,557 people died in road accidents during the period. According to him, 80 per cent of the deaths are due to lack of prompt medical assistance.

Explaining the technology, he said that the technology, which would be inaugurated this month, would be installed in the vehicle of the subscribers.

Ononniwu said, "In the event of a collision or an accident, the sensor installed with the tracking unit automatically alerts the control centre of the companies."

According to him, the sensor also sends information on the accident to the control centre, from where trained medical personnel would be dispatched to rescue the victims.

"Through the technology, operators at the control centre can know the exact location of the accident," he said.

The business development manager added that all occupants of the vehicle would be taken to the nearest hospital.

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