Personal data card for better emergency response
The Star, Tuesday, April 08,

IF you can’t speak for yourself in times of emergency, let the card speak for you. That is the idea behind the launching of the Emergency Data Card by the Malaysian Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association (MVFRA). 

The emergency card carries a person’s personal particulars such as the photograph, name and contact numbers in case of emergency, blood group as well as the current medical condition. 

MVFRA chairman Capt K. Balasupramaniam said the card would go a long way in assisting emergency services personnel to obtain instant up-to-date, medical and personal information about an accident victim. 

 

Balasupramaniam (centre) explaining to Dr Suleiman the details in an Emergency Data Card. With them is MVFRA member Sgt Sharul Ariffin.

He said the emergency card was based on feedback gathered while MVFRA’s Road Rescue Riders Unit (3RU) were assisting road accident victims.  

“In our rescue experience, we find that the victims have no information on them that can help us save their lives. 

“To save the person’s life, we need their personal particulars and most importantly the medical background to enable us, as the first respondent in an emergency, to arrange the right medical support,” said Balasupramaniam. 

“The Emergency Data Card is free and it will contain vital information about the owner,” he said at the launch held at the Atria Shopping Centre in Damansara Jaya, which also sponsored the event.  

Balasupramaniam added that the card was not only handy in road accidents but also in cases of heart attacks, fainting, epilepsy and other sudden medical condition that required emergency help. 

Balasupramaniam said MVFRA hoped to distribute more than 25,000 cards throughout the country and urged the corporate sector to come forward as sponsors to support the project. 

The guest-of-honour at the launching was Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Suleiman Mohamed.  

“It is a very noble act by MVFRA as a non-profit organisation to introduce this card that can save many lives,” said Suleiman. 

The public can collect their emergency data cards at the MVFRA counter in the Atria Shopping Centre on weekends. The counter will open until April 20. For more information, call or .  

 

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