Some road users and health professionals in Abuja have urged for faster emergency responses, improved evacuation procedures, and better coordination among responders to reduce preventable post-crash fatalities.
The stakeholders were responding to a question on the poor handling of crash victims and corpses by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other responders.
They emphasised that minimising delays during the critical period following an accident is essential for patient survival and the dignified handling of victims.
According to a commuter, Deborah Kayode, the condition of victims can deteriorate while they wait emergency responders after a crash.
She said, “Sometimes, what worries people at an accident scene is not only the crash itself but how long it takes before help arrives. When someone is seriously injured, every minute matters, so there should be a system that gets help to the person as quickly as possible.”
Similarly, a commercial vehicle driver, Ahmed Adisa, said motorists and other road users often found themselves assisting victims before emergency officials arrived.
“People who stop at accident scenes want to help, but most of us are not trained to handle serious injuries. We need emergency responders to arrive quickly so that injured people can receive proper first aid and be taken to hospital,” he said.
Another commuter, Emmanuel Eze, said the handling of deceased victims was also important to families.
“Even when someone has died, the person deserves dignity. The body should be properly identified, documented and taken to the appropriate place. For the family, knowing what happened to their loved one and where the body is taken is very important,” he said.
A medical practitioner, Dr Oyeniyi Oyedele, said the period immediately after a fatal road crash could be critical to the survival of severely injured victims.
According to him, an injured person needs prompt assessment, first aid and stabilisation before being transported to a facility that can provide the required treatment.
Mr Oyedele said, “Delays at any stage of that process can complicate the patient’s condition.”
Mr Oyedele added that emergency responders also needed adequate training and equipment to manage trauma cases at crash scenes.
He said unconscious victims should be properly assessed and treated as medical emergencies where there was uncertainty about their condition.
“An unresponsive person should not simply be assumed to be dead without appropriate assessment. Where there is doubt, emergency care should continue until death is properly established,” he said.
On transportation, another health expert, Dr Cynthia Adu, said that the objective should be to move seriously injured victims quickly and safely to appropriate health facilities.
The expert also stressed the need for effective communication between emergency responders and hospitals to ensure that facilities were prepared to receive patients.
Meanwhile the FRSC Public Education Officer (CPEO), Osondu Ohaeri, said the corps was strengthening its entire post-crash response chain.
Mr Ohaeri said the essence was to ensure that accident victims receive prompt medical attention and deceased victims were handled with dignity and respect.
He said the corps was strengthening not only its ambulance services but the entire emergency response system, including the Emergency Ambulance Service Scheme (EASS), roadside clinics, medical facilities and trained rescue personnel.
He added that the corps was working to improve access to its 122 emergency line and strengthen collaboration with hospitals, the police, Fire Service, security agencies and other emergency response organisations.
He stated, “The corps approach is centred on saving lives, providing immediate medical attention, evacuating victims without unnecessary delay, preserving crash scenes and evidence, and ensuring that deceased victims are treated with dignity.
“Our responsibility at a crash scene is first and foremost to save lives. The ultimate objective is to reduce preventable deaths after crashes by shortening the time between the crash, rescue and definitive medical care.”
He explained that FRSC personnel were trained to secure crash scenes, assess casualties, administer immediate first aid and evacuate victims requiring urgent medical attention without unnecessary delay.
He stressed that the corps does not take the determination of death at crash scenes casually, stressing that where there was any doubt about a victim’s condition, the person was treated as an emergency.
He said that the corps recognised the need to continuously improve its response capacity, particularly in reducing the time between the occurrence of a crash and the arrival of rescue personnel.
He stated, “That is why faster crash response remains a priority of the corps.”
Mr Ohaeri acknowledged that emergency responses across the country faced several challenges, including long distances, traffic congestion and limitations in resource availability.
He however assured that the corps would continue to improve its ambulance services, strengthen collaboration with hospitals and other emergency response agencies, and ensure that personnel lived up to their responsibilities.
He noted that the corps would hold personnel accountable where there was evidence of negligence or misconduct in the handling of crash victims.
The CPEO urged the public to support emergency responders by providing accurate information through the appropriate channels and cooperating with personnel at crash scenes.
He said effective collaboration among emergency response agencies remained essential to improving survival outcomes and ensuring that victims, including the deceased, were treated appropriately.
He added that the FRSC would continue to review and improve its systems as part of efforts to strengthen road safety and post-crash emergency response nationwide.