Night shelter caretakers learn first aid

Caretakers from 40 permanent and temporary night shelters were trained in first aid delivery recently. They will look after night shelters in north and north-east Delhi.

“Apart from basic training in handling minor injuries, they were also trained in handling common diseases like cough, cold and fever,” said Dr Vinita Gupta of St Stephen’s Hospital, who headed the training session. This is the second year in a row that such training has been imparted.

“Although caretakers try to help the ailing homeless, their skills are not up to the mark. We hope to make them into professionals,”  said Dr Gupta.

The night shelters will be given first aid kits by next week. Some NGOs, however, say the move came too late. “I appreciate the efforts being put to train our caretakers. But it is already January. The government should have started building night shelters and managing them well much earlier,” said Mansoor Khan of Beghar Foundation, which runs night shelters at Mori Gate and Kudasiya Ghat. “All shelters should have been ready by November and the training could have been imparted then,” added Khan.