DOHA: In a new initiative to make children safer on the roads the Hamad Trauma Center at Hamad General Hospital, the Ministry of Interior, the National Committee on Traffic Safety (NCTS), the Supreme Council of Health and other stakeholders have signed a declaration to do five key actions.
The Declaration for the Road Safety of Children in Qatar was signed to coincide with the third UN Global Road Safety Week (GRSW).
The declaration urges people to always use a seat belt on every trip in a car/vehicle, observe the school zone speed limit of 30 km/h when driving around schools, transport children under the age of 10 years in the back seats, restrained using the appropriate car seat or restraint system, refrain from driving when impaired by fatigue, medications, drugs and/or alcohol, and avoid using any form of mobile phone, electronic devices or serious distractions while driving.
The GRSW is a global event held from May 4 to May 10 within the framework of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 by its lead agency, the World Health Organisation. This year, its theme is ‘Children and Road Safety: #SaveKidsLives’.
Dr Hassan Al Thani, Head of Trauma Services at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), said some of the “most important work” to ensure safer roads must be done outside the operating theatre.
“We understand that some of our most important work must be done outside of the emergency and operating rooms of the Hamad Trauma Center,” he said, adding: “therefore, strengthening our internal partnerships within HMC is the next important step as we continue to align our efforts to improve road safety in Qatar with those of the NCTS.’
Dr Rafael Consunji, Director of the HMC Injury Prevention Programme, summarised the reasons for commemorating this week, saying: “Motor vehicle crashes lead to more than 200 serious injuries and 35 deaths to children in Qatar. The fact that nearly 90 percent of these deaths happen at the scene and are not treated at HMC hospitals highlights the importance of preventing these injuries from happening in the first place.”
Key stakeholders in the health of children convened to highlight efforts to improve road safety for children in Qatar.
D Ruben Peralta, Lead Principal Investigator of Qatar Foundation’s National Priority Research Program (NPRP) grant titled ‘Young Kids in Safe Seats’ presented the objectives of the grant, citing important contributions from the Primary Health Care Corporation. He thanked Qatar Foundation for realising the importance of the safety of child passengers.
During the stakeholders meeting, Dr Khalid Abdulnoor Saifeldeen, Director of Hamad International Training Center and the Kulluna for Health and Safety Campaign, described their award-winning Child Passenger Safety Technician Course.
Dr Guy Brisseau, Head of Paediatric Surgery at Sidra Medical and Research Center, presented a summary of the contributions of the HMC-Sick Kids Partnership to improving the quality of child transport health research in Qatar, on behalf of the Executive Clinical Lead for the Office of Corporate Child Health Planning at HMC, Dr Abdullah Al Kaabi.
The event was capped by a symbolic signing of a signboard to indicate the commitment of the participants to the goals of the GRSW and encourage other members of the HMC community and the general public to do the same.THE PENINSULA
