Goan doctor battles for Road Safety and Humanitarian aid in Goa

The slew of accidents in recent weeks has brought into sharp focus the raw damage road accidents can cause and it is surreal how it only takes one bad decision to cost a life. 

In the heart of Cuncolim, there was a fatal head-on collision between a fish container vehicle and a young boy from Ambaulim that has triggered widespread anger and got citizens to protest on the streets. Leading the agitation is ENT specialist, Dr Jorson Fernandes who has rallied troops and vowed that they would not stop their movement till they get justice and would refuse to bow down.

Make no mistake, Dr Fernandes could have simply walked away just as the majority of our society choose to thinking, “Why get involved, let them solve it”.

Dr Fernandes however, felt the downtrodden people who had to deal with the brazenly shocking attitude of the police lacked the wherewithal to take on the government administration.

“I am a voice for the voiceless people. These are poor people and the government is using their power and tactics to curb what is their right as they try to stand up to the government. I am here to help them and protect their rights as citizens,” said Dr Fernandes.

This is not the first time he has taken up the good fight, especially when it comes to road safety and humanitarian aid. Dr Fernandes is the chairman of the St John Ambulance Association in Goa and works as a trainer and surgeon examiner.

For this, he conducts certificate training courses on first aid, Medical First Responder Courses, Basic Life support Courses, Disaster Preparedness, Triaging etc. Similar workshops are held with colleges across Goa through their respective NSS programmes. In addition, these workshops are also conducted for the staff of Higher secondary schools, State Administration through GIPARD, Goa medical College, staff of Hospicio, staff of the Institute of Nursing Education, staff of Apollo Hospitals, NUSI Wockhardt Hospitals, ONGC, NUSI Maritime Academy and many multi-national corporates like Pfizer, Procter gamble, Colgate Palmolive, Abott India Ltd, Teva Pharma, Lupin Pharma, Colorcon, Putzmeister, MRF, Sesa Goa etc. 

Dr Fernandes was as a former Chairman of the Junior Red Cross and the youth Red Cross. He had about 125 schools and almost 76 higher secondary schools opt for Red Cross as a school assessment subject so as to strive to impart his knowledge and spread awareness on First aid. He was awarded the Outstanding Goa State Red Cross Volunteer award.

The well known Rotarian uses the Rotary network to reach out to schools and colleges and conduct workshops to make students aware about road safety, AIDS Awareness (Rotary Wockhardt Red Ribbon Programme) and Blood Donation camps etc. 

Dr Fernandes stressed on the importance of reaching out to the large student community where he feels the objective of bringing out a change in attitude and building a culture where people respect road safety and develop civic sense can be achieved.

“The government should introduce a subject in schools where they are inculcated with the values of maintaining discipline while driving/riding. If you love yourself, you love others and you will be extremely careful while driving as there is a lot at stake “added Dr Fernandes.

“We call ourselves patriotic but why do we only follow norms and regulations in foreign countries and not practice the same when we are in India” said Fernandes while giving an analogy of how people behave in countries like Singapore which has tough rules.

Dr Fernandes called on the government to take a leaf out of the book of countries that have enforced tough regulations to regulate traffic. He also demanded that traffic police in particular, be more vigilant and observant as this can prevent major accidents from taking place.

He called on the government to ensure that driving schools train budding drivers and that one should only be allowed to drive when they have a ‘driving sense ‘ and responsibility on the road. 

He lamented that there was a lack of proper road culture and civic sense and added that it is important for drivers to understand that their careless mistake can not only cause them harm but also lead to loss of life and disabilities and that is something no one should take lightly. 

“Although the Act mentions training in first aid for Public Transport Drivers and a must to have a first aid kit in the bus, you find the box with the label is invariably empty,” he added.