The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced a four-day Basic Life Support (BLS) training for health workers from seven hospitals in the territory as part of efforts to strengthen emergency response and reduce preventable deaths.
The training, which is certified by the American Heart Association (AHA), is being held in the Asokoro District Hospital, with participants drawn from Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse, Gwarinpa, Kuje, Kubwa and Nyanya hospitals.
The exercise is being conducted in line with the National Council on Health’s approval for the implementation of the National BLS Training Programme across the country.
Declaring the training open, the Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat (HSES), Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, said the initiative would enhance the capacity of health workers to respond promptly to medical emergencies and provide life-saving interventions while awaiting further medical care.
Fasawe said the FCTA was committed to ensuring that its health workers remained abreast of global best practices in emergency care, adding that the administration was working towards establishing Code Blue Teams across hospitals in the FCT.
She said the teams would ensure that patients requiring urgent attention receive timely and appropriate intervention.
“Our goal is to consistently record success stories from ‘no pulse to resuscitation’. When people know that they can receive timely and proper emergency care in our hospitals, it will also build their confidence and trust in government hospitals to respond swiftly and manage their loved ones,” she said.
Fasawe added that the knowledge acquired by participants would be cascaded to other health workers, as well as members of the public, in support of the National Community CPR Initiative.
She disclosed that the training would be extended to other hospitals in the FCT, with the necessary basic equipment and other requirements provided to strengthen emergency response and patient care.
The Mandate Secretary further said participants would undergo an assessment at the end of the training, with certificates to be awarded to those who meet the required standard.
Also speaking, the Medical Director of Asokoro District Hospital, Dr. Oluseyi Ashaolu, described the training as timely and necessary, particularly as emergency care continues to evolve globally.
He said the skills acquired would help health workers respond appropriately in critical situations and reduce avoidable deaths, especially where immediate intervention could determine whether a patient survives.
The Training Coordinator, Dr. Rosemary Nwokorie, a Consultant Anaesthetist, said the exercise was being conducted in batches, with the first batch scheduled for August 21 and 22, 2026, while the second batch would take place on September 4 and 5, 2026.
She explained that the programme also included a “Stop the Bleeding” course designed to equip health workers with skills to control severe bleeding in trauma patients before definitive medical treatment is provided.
The team of instructors is led by Dr. Onyedika Godfrey Okoye, a Trauma Surgeon at the Trauma Centre, National Hospital, Abuja.
The administration said the training forms part of its broader efforts to improve emergency care and ensure that health workers across the territory are adequately prepared to respond swiftly whenever patients require immediate medical attention.
