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Welcome to PATVORA First Aid!
There is a wealth of medical evidence to suggest that a golden hour' exists for casualties after a road crash. Within this time, road crash victims stand a greater chance of survival and a reduction in the adverse consequences of their injuries, if life-saving measures are immediately applied and followed by quality health care assistance. So knowing how to respond in an emergency could be vital.
In the developing world, over half of those killed in road accidents die before they reach hospital and well over a third of these could have been saved by first aid at the scene.
First Aid consists of methods and techniques that enhance practices related to the prevention, the preparedness and the immediate response to health emergencies.
Anyone trained in First Aid can provide assistance at the scene of a road crash; either because they are in one of the vehicles involved, live close by or are in a passing vehicle. Frequently they can transport the injured person to health professionals, if an ambulance is not available. The quality of this assistance is strongly dependent on the individuals having received adequate training in first aid.
First Aid provides the confidence to save lives and 
virtually anyone can learn to administer First Aid. Road users need only minimal training to feel confident that they can administer First Aid in a life-threatening emergency situation.
In order to reduce the consequences of road accidents, this site promotes road users access to first aid skills. The aim of PATVORA first aid centre is to ensure that at least one person in every ten Nigerian road users be trained in lifesaving skills and that every Nigerian road user be within minutes of a first aider.
As an organisation that is dedicated to saving lives, easing suffering and restoring hope on the road, PATVORA welcomes partnerships and strategies that will train millions of Nigerians every year in first aid application.
Anyone who visits this site can inform others using the send to a friend link
PATVORA services rely on public support. If you wish to contribute to our efforts then please mailto:info@patvora.org or call Ken on 080 23232328 to discuss how you can get involved.
When an accident occurs on the highway, the situation could be very serious. In Nigeria, fast emergency help is rarely available for road accident victims. The FRSC and associations for road accident victims working mainly on a voluntary basis have tried to fill this gap. Unfortunately, on this aspect, the hole left by government’s failure to properly fund the FRSC and the lack of support from the private sector has hindered prompt assistance to most accident victims.
Every minute of every day, officials of FRSC are faced with the challenge of getting to the scene of an accident as quickly and as safely as possible. Precious time lost can mean the difference between life and death for someone waiting for help. According to British Medical Journal, 1994 “ Undisputed findings [show] that pre-hospital deaths from injury are not inevitable and that at least some can be prevented by simple first aid measures"
In Nigeria, road accidents claim thousands of lives every year, however, as many as 30% of those who die on the spot of the road crash could have been saved if a first aider was available at the time of the emergency.
In a country with almost non-existent trauma care system, the greatest chance of survival from a road accident occurs when first aid kits are available and administered without delay. This is critical for a victim of road accident because each minute that first aid is delayed, the victim's chance of survival reduces.
Public access to First aid means that a critical and logical step in strengthening the chances of survival of accident victims is now available because accidents on the road can happen anywhere, anytime. Thus, access to first aid kits in vehicles is an important step toward saving more lives
Beyond health matters, first aid knowledge also increases the social responsibility of the society and strengthens humanitarian values. The application of first aid techniques, in particular the proper positioning of the victim prior to the arrival of the emergency response teams, can mean the difference between life and death in a road crash.
First Aid can be provided not only in relation to road safety, but also in the household, workplace and recreational areas.
The information contained in this PATVORA first aid centre is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and the PATVORA Organisation recommends consultation with your doctor or health care professional.
Anyone can save a life, Road Accidents and First Aid , British Red Cross, 2001.
This publication gives an overview of state-of-the-art knowledge of first aid in relation to road crashes. Report is available at Firstaid@redcross.org.uk
Capacity of National Societies with regard to Road Safety . International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 1999. This report gives an overview of the Red Cross Red Crescent's road safety and first aid initiatives.
WHO report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention , 2004. The report was launched on World Health Day, 7 April 2004. It is the first major report on the topic produced and issued by the WHO in collaboration with the World Bank. The report can be obtained by contacting the WHO at
VIP@who.int or downloaded from here:
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/infomaterials/world_report/en/
This topic is based on joint GRSP/International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies publication: First Aid: it saves lives on the road . It benefited from comments from the World Health Organization.
