Dr Afriyie responded to an emergency call to assist an elderly passenger who experienced cardiac arrest, four hours into a Delta flight from the Kotoka International Airport, Accra, in June last year.
“If the crew were not swift enough in their response, the man’s life would have been cut short…If an individual has a cardiac arrest, you have to respond within seconds as a physician,” he stated in a release from the Kingdom Concepts Consult, copied to the Ghana News Agency, on Monday.
Dr Afriyie commended the availability of medical tools such as “blood pressure cuff” and “oximeter,” found in the Enhanced Emergency Medical Kits (EEMK) on the Delta flight.
“I was thoroughly impressed by the flight crew’s response and cooperation…I’m grateful that Delta had things in place when things like this happen,” he added.
Dr Afriyie has 11 years of experience as a medical doctor, and five years as an emergency physician specialist.
He is pursuing a second Master’s degree in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Dr Henry Ting, Senior Vice President, Chief Health & Wellness Officer, commended Dr Afriyie’s effort in providing medical assistance to the ailing traveller.
“It was fortunate to have you on board with us, and we are thankful for the assistance you provided…
“Medical volunteers like yourself expand our inflight response capabilities and help us in our mission to protect the health and safety of our customers and our crew,” Dr Ting said.
As safety professionals, Delta Air Lines flight attendants are trained to provide medical assistance during in-flight medical events.
Officials say every Delta aircraft is equipped with two Enhanced Emergency Medical Kits with life-saving medications, and equipment including automated blood pressure cuff, oxygen saturation pulse oximeter, first aid kit, and automated external defibrillator.
“The flight crew can connect on-demand using high-speed Wi-Fi to emergency medicine physicians on the ground through MedLink by MedAire, a resource that guides crew members and medical volunteers to assess customer’s condition and provide care.
“Delta aircraft are also equipped with the Red Pouch, the suite of additional medical diagnostic equipment, to utilize for the most common medical events,” the company noted.
“Delta flight crew are trained to routinely solicit medical volunteer service from passengers onboard who are physicians or other licensed medical professionals to assist during an in-flight medical emergency,” it added.
GNA
