28 February,2011 07:10 AM IST | | Astha Saxena
Sushruta Trauma Centre, the only one in the area, is likely to close down for lack of specialised staff
Think of this: While driving towards Kashmere Gate, you come across an accident scene. A car has been hit and the driver is badly injured. You decide to lend a helping hand and rush the victim to a trauma centre located near the Inter-State Bus Terminus.u00a0
No first aid: Sushruta Trauma Centre may be shifted to the new
orthopaedics block of the LNJP hospital. File pic
Reaching there, you find it has been closed. The other trauma centre is in south Delhi and it will take at least an hour to reach that place given the distance and chaotic traffic on city's roads. You wonder: will the victim survive the journey to south Delhi?
The scenario might become a reality. For the Sushruta Trauma Centre (STC), Delhi government's only trauma centre in the northern part of the city, might be closed down soon. The Centre is likely to be shifted back to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) from its present location.
In a reply to a letter by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the medical superintendent of the centre has said: "The trauma centre should be shifted to the new orthopaedics block of the LNJP hospital as the centre has not enough money to employ more doctors and surgeons." A copy of the letter is with the MiD DAY.
"This move can have an adverse affect on accident cases in north Delhi. We get at least 50 trauma cases daily and perform about 140 major surgeries every month. Sending them to the Centre at AIIMS (in case the centre is closed here) will take a lot of time and the delay can prove fatal," said a doctor from STC, on condition of anonymity. A senior doctor at Health Ministry added, "Trauma centres are like fire stations. Though they are not needed every single second but they are functional 24 hours. The administration is just giving frivolous reasons for closing the hospital."
According to the sources, the trauma centre was associated with LNJP earlier but in 2006-2007, it was declared an independent hospital. However, from the time it became independent, the STC has faced shortage of neuro-surgeons and anaesthetists. All efforts by Delhi government to fill vacancies and improve infrastructure at the centre have failed. Recently, grants of Rs 10 crore for electrical work and Rs three crore for civil work were also issued for the centre.
"It is quite ironical. Last year, the ministry was planning to increase the number of trauma centres in the city. Now they are talking of closing even this one. If they were planning so, then why did they ask for money for electrical and civil works? said a senior doctor from Ministry on the condition of anonymity.
Talking about his reply to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ajay Gupta, Medical Superintendent, of STC said, "The letter about which you are talking is just my reply to minutes of the meeting where I have mentioned all the pros and cons of closing down the trauma centre. As the new Health Minister has come in, we should now wait for some more time so that we can direct the activities in a constructive way."
Fatalities
The National Capital Region saw 2182 accidents in the year 2009 in which 2,234 people were killed. In 2010, there were 1978 accidents in which 2024 people had died.
