Maternity home or dialysis ward?

With reins of Delhi's health ministry changing hands, plans regarding the conversion of Sushruta Trauma Centre seem to have changed as well

Maternity home or dialysis ward?

With reins of Delhi's health ministry changing hands, plans regarding the conversion of Sushruta Trauma Centre seem to have changed as well

The recent reshuffle in the Delhi cabinet has begun to show its ramifications. The fate of the city's first ever trauma centre -- Sushruta Trauma Centre (STC) --u00a0 hangs in balance as the previous health minister wanted to convert it into a maternity and child care centre while the incumbent plans to modify it into a dialysis ward.

Undecided: Sushruta Trauma Centre, New Delhi. PIC/Rajeev Tyagi

Sources say a meeting was held on May 6 in the health department in which a proposal was discussed saying that the trauma centre should be changed into a dialysis ward. "Earlier, they had planned to convert it into a maternity and child care centre. Instead of focusing on improving the conditions and manpower, they are shutting it down. I don't understand their way of doing things," said a senior health department official on condition of anonymity.

Dr AK Walia and Dr Kiran Walia

"The idea is only under discussion as even the doctors are in favour of shifting the centre. But a trauma centre always functions along with a hospital. STC is a standalone hospital, only trauma patients come here and it isn't used for any other purpose," said Dr AK Walia, Minister of Health, Delhi government. The ministry has identified hospitals like Dr Hedgevar, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, BR Ambedkar and Madan Mohan Malviya to merge the centre.

"We are considering these four hospitals and are also exploring other areas where we can adjust the dialysis ward," added Dr Walia. The previous minister, Dr Kiran Walia, had also pointed out that the trauma centre would not last for long and there was no point improving its condition and wasting money.

"It was impossible to invest large amounts of money in that trauma centre. We need so many maternity and child care centres, which is why at that time we were planning to convert in into a maternity and child care centre. But now, I cannot comment on the present decision," said Dr Kiran Walia, now Minister for Social Welfare, Delhi government.

No help!
MiD DAY had reported on February 28 about Delhi government's plans of shutting down Sushruta Trauma Centre (STC), the only government trauma centre in the northern part of the city. The centre is likely to be shifted back to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) from its present location. "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.