UAE security guards turn 'First Aid Heroes'

Security guards in the UAE are being trained as first responders for emergency situations as part of a major nationwide initiative.

RAK Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah has already trained 100 security personnel as part of the first phase.

The campaign will soon move to other parts of the country to replicate the success.

It eventually aims to reach out to guards placed across workplaces, residences, schools, shopping malls and other industries.

The drive was formally launched at a press conference by Dr. Amin Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for the Medical Practice and License Sector in the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention in the presence of Abdul Aziz Al Zaabi, Chairman of Arabian Healthcare Group, the parent organisation of RAK Hospital.

"We identified that security guards are the most common factor everywhere across UAE in all kinds of facilities thus they were best suited to work as first responders in case of emergencies," said Dr. Raza Siddiqui, Executive Director of RAK Hospital.

"CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. Currently, about 9 in 10 people who have a cardiac arrest outside the hospital die but immediate CPR can double or triple their chances of survival," he added.

The security guards will complete a certified ASHI (American Safety & Health Institute) Basic Life Support Training course which includes both theory and practical components followed by an examination of the same.