Huge funds spent but no respite to victims of tragedies
Lacks Surgeons, Anesthesiologists, vital equipments etc
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 2: Incredible it may sound but it is a harsh reality that Trauma Hospitals established in major accident prone areas to provide timely treatment to the victims of tragedies are in ‘acute trauma’ because of the absolute non-seriousness on the part of Health Department of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
These Trauma Hospitals are just buildings constructed by making an expenditure of crores of rupees as neither the staff has been provided nor the vital equipments required to promptly treat victims of road accidents and other tragedies even after repeated instructions from the top level in the administration.
This is notwithstanding the fact that Trauma Hospitals are generally constructed to provide prompt and timely care to the patients with life-threatening injuries and they are supposed to be equipped with advanced equipment and staffed by highly-specialized Surgeons and other health care providers.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Trauma Hospital at Thathri in Doda district was constructed several years back with this objective and even posts of doctors and para-medical staff were sanctioned by the Health Department. But till date it has failed to effectively handle any victim of road accident mainly because no serious efforts were ever made to post required number of doctors and other required staff.
“What to talk of highly-specialized Surgeons, this Trauma Hospital even lacks General Surgeon and Anesthesiologist and in their absence the Operation Theatre most of the times remains unutilized and all those accident victims, who reach there are simply referred to either Government Medical College Doda or Government Medical College Jammu”, sources informed.
Similarly, Trauma Hospital at Khellani, also in Doda district, was constructed five-six years ago by spending crores of rupees to provide timely healthcare particularly to the road accident victims. However, this Trauma Hospital is also in ‘trauma’ because of utter neglect on the part of all those who remained Director Health Services Jammu including the incumbent Director.
“The posts of doctors and paramedical staff for this Trauma Hospital have not been sanctioned till date and this building is being utilized as Sub-Centre and for training of para-medical staff”, sources informed, adding “the issue of sanctioning posts for this Trauma Hospital was brought to the notice of higher authorities a number of times but only assurances were given and situation continues to be the same as it was at the time of completion of Trauma Hospital”.
In Ramban district, the Trauma Hospital operates from within the District Hospital Complex, which otherwise is an indication of policy paralysis on the part of Health Department. “What is the logic behind having District Hospital and Trauma Hospital in one complex”, sources asked.
“All the accident victims are being treated only in the District Hospital in the absence of adequate manpower and machinery in the Trauma Hospital”, they said, adding “what to talk of Trauma Hospital even the District Hospital Ramban lacks highly-specialized Surgeons like Neurosurgeon etc and even Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine has not been provided till date”.
They further said, “this condition of the Trauma Hospitals is notwithstanding the fact that in numerous review meetings of the Health Department as well as Road Safety Council stress was laid on equipping these hospitals with all the required manpower and machinery to achieve the objective behind their establishment”.
Despite repeated telephonic calls to ascertain the steps being taken to infuse new lease of life in these Trauma Hospitals, Director Health Services Dr Rakesh Magotra preferred not to respond.
It is pertinent to mention here that Trauma Hospitals should have specialist medical and nursing care, including emergency medicine, trauma surgery, critical care, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, anesthesiology and radiology as well as a wide variety of highly specialized and sophisticated surgical and diagnostic equipment.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
