As part of the INDIA-EMS (Integrated Nationwide District-based Implementation Research for Emergency Model System) project under the National Health Research Priority (NHRP) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a comprehensive First Responder Training Program was successfully conducted in Puducherry. The initiative was implemented by JIPMER, the nodal centre and national implementation partner for INDIA-EMS, in collaboration with the Pondicherry District Administration and the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services (DHFWS). The Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Trauma & Burns, JIPMER served as the technical execution arm for the training.
This training was part of the INDIA-EMS initiative titled “One Responder, One Village”, which aims to train at least one first responder in every village to act promptly during medical emergencies and disasters, significantly improving golden-hour outcomes.
The program was inaugurated by Shri. A. Kulothungan, District Collector of Puducherry, who highlighted the importance of equipping local citizens to handle mass casualty events and day to-day emergencies. He appreciated the collaborative efforts of INDIA-EMS, DHFWS, and JIPMER in building a sustainable and community-based emergency response system.
The event was also attended by:
• Dr. S. Govindarajan, Mission Director (NHM)
• Dr. G. Raghunathan, Deputy Director (IEC)
• Dr. R. Duraisamy, Nodal Officer, 108 Emergency Services
• Dr. Manu Ayyan, Principle Investigator, INDIA-EMS, and Associate Professor, JIPMER
They collectively emphasized the urgency of decentralizing emergency medical training and strengthening the preparedness of communities across all regions. 50 Participants from various villages underwent hands-on training in CPR, choking relief, trauma management, bleeding control, cervical spine protection, and safe patient transport, using simulation-based stations led by trained faculty from INDIA-EMS and CoE-JIPMER.
The program was coordinated by Dr. Sooriyaprasannan S., Research Scientist, INDIA-EMS (NHRP), ICMR, who also served as the Program Coordinator, along with Dr. Gloria, Scientist, INDIA-EMS, and Nodal Officer, Centre of Excellence in Trauma & Burns, JIPMER. They jointly led the smooth planning and execution of the workshop. Dr. Sooriyaprasannan, in his remarks, emphasized the goal of creating a trained and responsive village-level workforce capable of immediate life-saving action.
This initiative reflects INDIA-EMS’s mission to establish a resilient, responsive, and research-driven emergency care model, setting a national example for scalable community-based EMS systems.