Over the weekend, we lost a player in the Nigeria Premier League because people on the scene as captured in videos could not administer CPR and didn’t really know the correct actions to take. Should engaging in a game or attending a game lead to loss of life? No.
What then is the minimum requirement to ensure safety on our sports fields considering that this can happen at school games, workplace sports events and in regular sports? Here are a few basics to ensure safety:
- Personal medical checks: Sports requires physical fitness. Because the body is subjected to intense activities, it is important for sports men and women and even fitness enthusiasts to undergo periodic medical checks. Medical checks make you know the real state of your body and the things you can do or not do.
- Basic first aid knowledge for sportsmen: Since this is an area with a potential for injury, at the least, every sportsman should undergo a basic first aid training that can be useful to themselves and their peers. The training components must feature the likely first aid emergencies that can happen.
- Trained Paramedics: Sports centres and sports teams must have trained paramedics attached to their activities. What is chosen here must suit the particular context. Is it for a school’s inter-house sports, workplace football competition, sports club or centre? Get requisite professional help
- Adequate first aid and medical equipment: Medical tools and equipment must be available in the right quantity and it must be functional. It is sad to see a medical situation arise in a sports centre and then we find out the tools to make things better are either not working or are unavailable.
- Emergency response plan: There have been cases of deaths and injury at sports centres or events due to either an absence of an emergency response plan or an inadequate one.
- Injured or feeling out of sorts? Stop playing: We must encourage a culture where sportsmen do not ignore health warning signs. We should not boo them or insinuate they are weak because they choose to stop playing.
Register for the first aid Masterclass taking place at the fourth edition of the #SchoolSafetySummit for free schoolsafetysummit.net
