EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) is known as the first aid squad, emergency squad, rescue squad, ambulance squad, ambulance service, ambulance corps or life squad. Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) do specific rescue jobs. These services use specially trained people and specially equipped facilities. Doctors and nurses assigned at the EMS treat emergencies such as heart attacks and injuries.
People’s lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). In the EMS department, there are emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. Incidents as varied as automobile accidents, heart attacks, slips and falls, childbirth, and gunshot wounds all require immediate medical attention. EMTs and paramedics provide this vital service as they care for and transport the sick or injured to a medical facility.
The goal of most emergency medical services is to either provide treatment to those in need of urgent medical care, with the goal of satisfactorily treating the malady, or arranging for timely removal of the patient to the next point of definitive care. The term Emergency Medical Service evolved to reflect a change from a simple transportation system (ambulance service) to a system in which actual medical care occurs in addition to transportation. In some developing regions, the term is not used, or may be used inaccurately, since the service in question does not provide treatment to the patients, but only the provision of transport to the point of care. Kuwait, however, has one of the best ambulance services in the region and has a state-of-the-art Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Control Center that can dispatch an ambulance to an emergency scene in the soonest possible time as EMTs must be at the location within eight minutes, after someone dials 112.
Hengie Vargas Taton, a well experienced nurse/EMT at the Emergency Medical Services-Ministry of Health in Kuwait and current President of the Pinoy Ambulance Nurses in Kuwait (PANIK), in this interview, provides an overview of the work of the EMTs, the daily challenges that EMTs have to face, the vital role of the public during emergency cases and the advocacy of his group in promoting public awareness in responding to emergency situations to help save lives.
Question: When was the Pinoy Ambulance Nurses in Kuwait established? What’s the reason behind its establishment?
Answer: PANIK which stands for Pinoy Ambulance Nurses in Kuwait was first conceived in year 2000, but, due to the escalating demand of Filipino nurses in developed countries like the US, the UK and Canada, a large number of Filipino nurses left Kuwait to work in those countries. Then in 2007 to 2009 there was an influx of newly-hired Filipino nurses by the Kuwait Ministry of Health, so the group of Filipino nurses thought of reviving the idea of establishing the organisation, marking the rebirth of PANIK and its full establishment last June 4, 2010 with its founder Edwin AlejandrinoTan. At first, we just envisioned it as a simple group of Filipino nurses assigned at the Emergency Medical Services but as years went by, it paved the way to the birth of our advocacy of helping save lives.
Q: What’s the advocacy of your group?
A: PANIK is composed of Filipino nurses working in the Emergency Medical Services of Kuwait bound with a common advocacy of promoting inter-relationship among the members and the Filipino community as well as the ‘brotherhood’ and the spirit of ‘bayanihan’, to promulgate knowledge of functions, resources available, provide projects and programs which are incongruent with the norms and traditions of the host country. Furthermore, PANIK advocates giving volunteer services to the Filipino community in particular and to the expatriate community in general.
Q: How many members do you have now? How many Filipino nurses are with the EMS department?
A: PANIK as of today has 97 official members. The number of Filipino nurses in the EMS department has dramatically increased from 30 in 2007 to over 200 now including those hired this year.
Q: In simple terms, what is Emergency Medical Services?
A: Emergency Medical Services or EMS is a branch of emergency services dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency. Emergency medical services may also be locally known as: first aid squad, emergency squad, rescue squad, ambulance squad, ambulance service, ambulance corps or life squad.
Q: What constitutes a medical emergency?
A: A medical emergency is an injury or illness that is acute and poses an immediate risk to a person’s life or long term health. A medical emergency is any sudden illness or injury that is perceived to be a crisis threatening the physical or psychological well-being of a person or group. These emergencies may require assistance from another person, who should ideally be suitably qualified to do so, although some of these emergencies can be dealt with by the victims themselves. Depending on the severity of the emergency, and the quality of any treatment given, it may require the involvement of multiple levels of care, from a first aider to an emergency physician through to specialist surgeons. To help you decide what a critical situation is, here are some examples: unconsciousness, a suspected stroke, heavy blood loss, suspected broken bones, a deep wound such as a stab wound, a suspected heart attack, difficulty in breathing, severe burns, and a severe allergic reaction.
Q: How do you find your job as an EMS nurse?
A: Working in the EMS is a totally different experience from working inside the hospital setting, in the sense that you are in the first line of defense. You are on the frontline dealing with the unexpected. It is always full of action and surprises. Yet, it’s very fulfilling too when you’re able to save a life in a day.
Q: What are the most common cases of emergency that EMS nurses respond to everyday?
A: The most common real emergencies that we have here in Kuwait are RTA (Road Traffic Accident), cardio vascular accidents at home or in workplace. This summer, there have been a lot of fire incidents.
Q: What are the most challenging cases that you and other PANIK members have encountered? How did you deal with them?
A: The most challenging I think is RTA or Road Traffic Accident wherein most of the victims sustain multiple fractures and severe bleeding, and there have been instances wherein their level of consciousness is deteriorating. You have to do your level best inside the ambulance on the way to keep the patient conscious till the ambulance reaches the nearest hospital. You’ve got to do the CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) while the ambulance is in motion.
Q: How would you describe the efficiency of the EMS department in Kuwait in responding to emergency cases?
A: I can say, Kuwait has the most modern EMS call center that can immediately contact and dispatch an ambulance with well-trained EMTs. In responding to emergency cases, we have a 8-minute time lock in reaching the scene. Efficient? I can say yes, except in few isolated cases wherein a delay happens due to traffic congestion along the way.
Q: What does an ambulance usually have inside?
A: An ambulance is equipped with life-saving devices and items like the Defibrillator machine, suction machine, backboard, carrying chair, extricating device, immobilization supports, oxygen, first aid bag with different first aid items inside and many more.
Q: Is there any particular aspect of the EMS department that needs to be improved?
A: EMTs in the field are well prepared to respond to any situation based on the information given by the Dispatched Control Unit. For me, I think this section needs more improvement because we often receive details of the cases which are not congruent to the real scenario when we reach the scene.
Q: What activities/events did your group organize to raise awareness on how to respond to emergency cases?
A: PANIK was able to collaborate with other organisations for the past two years in providing awareness about the existence and services of the EMS in Kuwait and what should be done in cases of emergency.
Q: How important is first aid? Do you think everyone should learn the basic first aid?
A: First aid is very essential to everyone. Emergencies come in different forms and situations in any place at any given time. Yes! We strongly suggest and encourage everyone to learn even just the very basic of First-Aid. This can even be taught in elementary and high schools.
Q: Can you please enumerate the basic first aid that everyone should learn?
A: I will just cite common emergency situations in which even a non-medical personnel can provide first-aid such as in the cases of choking, drowning, burns, sudden chest pain and loss of consciousness and others.
Q: Are you planning any first aid seminar workshop not only for Filipinos but also other expatriates?
A: As part of our continuous commitment to providing services and awareness, yes, we have an upcoming Educational Drive for the Filipino Community and this will be organised in cooperation with other organisations. Details of this activity will be posted soon on the FILCOM page. As they say, charity begins at home. We are starting first with the Filipino community and later on, hopefully, we can reach out to other expatriates in the country.
Q: Do you think that Kuwaiti citizens and the expatriates also play an important role in saving lives during emergency cases?
A: Everyone plays an important role in saving lives, regardless of your race, culture, religion. We have some kind of moral responsibility toward each other. Basic training for the general public could help save many lives as a lot can be done in the first few minutes following a heart attack or any type of trauma. Providing basic knowledge to the public on how to act in case of an emergency can save lives. But of course, as expatriates we also have to take into account that each country has its own protocol in responding to emergency cases and we have to be aware of that before doing so. For instance, here in Kuwait, when one witnesses a traffic accident, any motorist can’t just go out there and help the victim without waiting for the police authorities or EMS otherwise, you may get into trouble. But hopefully, this practice could be changed to help save lives.
Q: Due to the traffic congestion in some parts of Kuwait, was there any time that help was delayed because the ambulance could not pass through the heavy traffic? What measures should be done to avoid this?
A: Yes! Traffic usually causes the delay in providing efficient medical services to any area of Kuwait. I believe the government has to provide massive information drive to promote awareness to the motorists to respect the siren of the ambulance or provide way to the ambulance during emergency situations. In other countries, once an ambulance is seen on the street, all vehicles stay on the side and give way to the ambulance because every second counts to save a life. But here in Kuwait, sad to say, there were even instances that the ambulance is stuck in the traffic which should not be the case. Hopefully, something can be done to raise public awareness to respect signs of emergency.
Q: This holy month of Ramadan, what are the most common emergency cases that you respond to?
A: During the month of Ramadan, the most common emergency cases are the house cases such as abdominal pains which usually happen after Iftar due to indigestion, hypoglycemia due to fasting, headache and loss of consciousness. There are also a number of road traffic accidents before Iftar as everyone rushes for the futoor.
Q: During vehicular accidents in Kuwait, what do EMS nurses usually do first?
A: At all times, upon arrival in the scene, secure your safety first, then if you are certain of it, then deal with the patient right away and do your assessment so you will know what should be done to the patient accordingly.
Q: With the two years of existence of PANIK, what has it accomplished so far?
A: With the two years of the existence of PANIK, we have done a lot in promoting awareness on how to respond to emergency medical situations. We’re also happy to be able change the life of a four-year old child with a cleft palate even before the group was fully organized. We helped finance her operation and now she can smile beautifully. We had some relief operations for the victims of typhoon Ondoy and donated basic commodities to typhoon Sendong victims in Cagayan de Oro in Southern Philippines. We were able to provide a bit of comfort to our distressed OFWs who are housed in the Filipino Workers Resource Center at the Philippine Overseas Labour Office by conducting a Christmas Party and Medical Missions in collaboration with Lighthouse church here in Kuwait. We also have a basic program of helping members during emergency situations.
Q: How would you carry on with your advocacy?
A: Carrying on the advocacy for long time requires great effort and commitment from the officers and members of the organisation. As long as we are bound by the common goal of providing and sharing what we have, I believe that this will go far. I always share with the member what I believe: Life does not depend on how happy you are, but on how happy others can be because of you and to never get tired in doing small things because these small things occupy the biggest part of their heart.
Q: What are your upcoming activities and projects?
A: We have a number of projects on the list such as the raffle draw as a fund raising for Bantay Bata 163, Educational Drive for the Filipino Community, Continuous relief operation and Medical missions.
Q: How do you see PANIK as an organization in five or 10 years from now?
A: After 10 years with God’s grace, I can see PANIK as a very successful organisation that will be able to provide a life changing experience to the Filipino and expatriate community and bring smiles to their lips and happiness to their hearts.

biography
Hengie Vargas Taton is a registered nurse/Emergency Medical Technician at the Emergency Medical Services at the Ministry of Health and President of the Pinoy Ambulance Nurses in Kuwait (PANIK)
Educational Background
Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Colegio De San Agustin, Bacolod Philippines, 1993
Work Experience
Volunteer Nurse – Bacolod Sanitarium and Hospital Philippines – 1994
Company Nurse/Supervisor - Negros Golden Heritage Company, Inc, Bacolod City, Negros Occ, Philippines1995-2001
Charge Nurse – Hera General Hospital – Makkah, Saudi Arabia 2001-2003
Charge Nurse/Team Leader – King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Oncology Center – Jeddah Saudi Arabia 2003-2006
Private Duty Nurse – Manila Philippines 2006
Nurse/EMT – Emergency Medical Services-MOH Kuwait 2007 to present
Achievements
Most Efficient Nurse – Bacolod Sanitarium and Hospital- Philippines
Best Staff Nurse – King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Oncology center – Jeddah Saudi Arabia
Certified Health Care Provider -(BLS)American Health Assoc-iation
Certified Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) American Health Association
PANIK President since 2010
Seminars/lectures attended
Nursing Symposium on Hajj
Empowerment On Clinical Nursing
Nursing Empowerment on Continuous Quality Improvement
Intravenous Therapy Course
First Aid in the Workplace
Basic Life Support for Health providers
Course for Infection Control Guide & Policies for EMS Setting
Ambulance Basic Course


By Michelle Fe Santiago
Arab Times Staff