Gridlocks, PPEs, major challenges for emergency response in Lagos — Red Cross

The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), Lagos Branch, says mobility and insufficient personal protective equipment (PPEs) pose major challenges to reducing casualties during emergency response in the state.

Chairman of NRCS in Lagos, Mrs Adebola Kolawole, made the disclosure in an interview  on Wednesday.

Kolawole, who noted that the traffic situation in the state also made it difficult for the volunteers to reach the scene of incidents in time.

“We still need more PPEs, despite trying to equip them,” she said.

Speaking on how the volunteers manage their time in-between their regular jobs, businesses and trauma, the Chairman said.

“They have time for volunteering, putting their work and businesses into consideration.

“They may volunteer for two, three, four or even five hours, depending on their schedule.

“At times, they suffer flashbacks due to what they do and see at the scene of emergencies.

“At times, they have nightmares, it affects them psychologically and emotionally; so, to overcome these, we do debriefing.”

According to Kolawole, the Emergency First Aid Team (EFAT) of the Red Cross also provides psychosocial support, search and rescue services during response.

Also, NRCS Disaster Management Officer in Lagos, Mr Ige Oladimeji, said apart from mobility, some other challenges of the volunteers included crowd control and welfare to motivate the volunteers.

Oladimeji, who joined the Red Cross as a volunteer in 1989, said the most memorable day for him was joining the response team during a fire outbreak in Marina, Lagos.

He said the briefing session, where the Red Cross volunteers receive psychosocial support after emergency response, helped to keep them emotionally and psychologically balanced.

The briefing was an interactive session where volunteers of the Red Cross share their experiences and also give psychosocial support.