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"A dream come true"
One name has become almost synonymous with the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC): Georges Kettaneh (GK), the national director of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
department. He is the linchpin of emergency relief in Lebanon, a country where the medical and emergency services are mobilised on an almost daily basis and carry out all types of emergency missions.
Mr Kettaneh is also in charge of the new training course for volunteer rescue workers and is ably assisted in this role by a promising and dedicated young man, Nabih Jabr (NJ).
As the first phase of the training course for volunteer rescue workers draws to a close, what are your thoughts on the course so far?
GK – This course is a dream come true. We are truly delighted that we have been able to work so well with the SDC and the ICRC. It is now up to us – the Lebanese Red Cross – to maintain the momentum, to remain focused and to do everything in our power to keep up the good work.
NJ – Everything has gone according to plan, a rare occurrence in Lebanon. The participants have shown remarkable dedication and diligence. The challenge is now managing the interest that the course has generated. I have already received lots of calls from volunteers who were not selected first time around, but who were still keen to find out how the course had gone and hope to train as an instructor one day. Feedback has been really positive, by and large. Admittedly, though, some rescue workers were a bit disappointed not to be included in the new team of instructors. I should point out that demand massively outstripped supply: over 100 candidates applied for the 26 training places.
What is the next stage and what plans do you have for the rest of the project?
NJ – We still have a number of tasks to complete between November 2008 and early March 2009, before we can get started on the second phase of the project. These include running a management course for project leaders, preparing the first draft of a handbook for rescue workers, and launching the final module in the instructor training programme, which will focus on the management of mass casualty incidents. Only once all these pieces are in place will we be in a position to enter the second project phase, when trainee instructors start passing on the knowledge they have acquired to the one hundred or so future instructors currently working in Red Cross stations throughout country. This phase is planned to run until the end of 2009.
GK – It is important that the entire LRC hierarchy, its National Congress, its Medical Committee as well as participating doctors are involved in every stage of the process. There are several dozen people across Lebanon who constantly monitor the progress of the project. The Ministry of Health, which is, to some extent, our overseeing authority and which has lent its support to the project, is kept constantly up-to-date. I also like to keep in contact with the heads of each of the LRC regional sectors, as this helps to build on the success of the project so far. When the time is right, we would also like to set up a dedicated school offering basic and advanced training courses specifically for Lebanese rescue workers. We hope our current training initiatives will blaze a trail for the development of a sustainable training system in the future.
This also raises the question of overseeing and evaluating an undertaking as ambitious as the training programme. What are your plans in this regard?
GK – Dr Olivier Hagon and Béatrice Crettenand Pecorini, who were sent by the SDC, oversee the medical content of the training programme. They were in charge of setting up and leading the training teams for the phase-1 modules. During phase 2, they will evaluate the success of the project by shadowing the new instructors as they embark on their first round of classes. The LRC intends to develop its own evaluation procedure in the future. However, it usually takes around five years to introduce any new training curriculum. We shall keep a close eye on every phase of the project as well as monitor the new batches of trained rescue workers. We expect to train around 400 volunteers every year.
NJ – At the end of phase 2, the project will undergo an external evaluation. The findings will help us identify where improvements could be made to our existing procedures. We also hope to create “staff evaluation sheets”, which the rescue workers will be required to complete on a regular basis. We will probably wait until 2011, i.e. three years after the project launch, before undertaking a comprehensive impact study. This will be sufficient time to draw meaningful comparisons between the previous and existing set-ups. The study will be conducted together with Lebanese hospitals, which will evaluate the action taken by rescue workers and seek feedback from the patients themselves.
Any final thoughts?
NJ – Volunteer rescue workers in Lebanon have acquired a real sense of pride. They also feel that they have what it takes to pass on their knowledge and expertise to others. And yet, despite all this professional training, they still consider themselves volunteers, first and foremost.
GK – What we might lack in terms of organisation at the present time we make up for in experience. The training programme has strengthened our resolve to ensure that all Lebanese rescue workers, regardless of which part of the country they work in, can rely on the same system, the same resources and the same working methods to carry out emergency missions to the best of their abilities. We are very grateful to Switzerland for all the help and support it has given us to achieve this goal.