A private hospital chain in the city has started training ambulance drivers about how to deal with trauma injuries while transporting a patient to a hospital and identify the symptoms of stroke and cardiac arrest so they know what kind of care the patient needs and which hospitals provide that.

This will help reduce the time to shift a critical patient to the right hospital, which will prove crucial in saving the person’s life, said doctors involved in the training programme, organised by Manipal Hospitals.

Some of the ambulance drivers who were felicitated on Wednesday said they were often the first responders after a road accident or after someone has suffered a stroke or cardiac arrest. Such training will be important for them, they said.

Joydip Banik, 49, who has been driving an ambulance for 17 years, said only a few drivers are trained in providing basic trauma care support.

“We are literally the first responders. We see patients even before a doctor sees them. Such training is important,” he said.

Another ambulance driver said only critical care ambulances have trained paramedics. Most of the ambulances provided by neighbourhood clubs do not have such personnel.

“The drivers and attendants in such ambulances are not trained in providing the basic support. It is important to reach out to them, too,” the driver said.

The Bengaluru-based Manipal Hospitals, which runs hospitals in Dhakuria, Mukundapur and Salt Lake, launched the training on Wednesday. Forty ambulance drivers are being trained in the first batch. The group has plans to take the training to districts, said an official.

“It is important for an ambulance driver to have some basic knowledge about how to manage a patient in the pre-hospitalisation phase,” said Kishen Goel, the head of emergency at Manipal Hospitals Broadway (Salt Lake).

“Ambulance drivers have to pick up the patient. If they know how to assess the nature of the injuries and decide quickly where to take the patient, it will save a lot of time,” said Goel.

“Trauma injuries orroad accident patients bleed a lot. If the injury is on a major artery, it can lead to a lotof blood loss by the time the patient arrives in a hospital. The ambulance driver, along with paramedics in theambulance, can take measures to stop or reduce the blood loss.”

Apratim Chatterjee,clinical lead, stroke andneuro intervention, Manipal Hospitals, said they weretrying to “empower thedrivers by providing them knowledge”.

“The driver, once trained, can dial the code for stroke when he/she can assess the patient. This will ensure that other preparations start in the hospital by the time the patient is in the hospital,” said Chatterjee.

Doctors said it is important for drivers to knowwhich hospitals can provide trauma care. “If a trauma patient is taken to a primary health centre, that will only waste time. The training will involve these aspects,” said a doctor.