Trauma Care Centres for Accident Victims on National Highways

Speed Post News NEtwork

New Delhi : The Government of India has taken initiatives towards setting up of Trauma Care Facilities along National Highways (NHs) under the scheme “Capacity Building for Developing Trauma Care Facilities on National Nighways”. The overall objective of the scheme is to bring down preventable deaths due to road accidents by developing a pan-India trauma care network. The scheme provides for setting up  a designated trauma center at every 100 km on NHs.

During the 11th and 12th Five Year Plans, about 200 Trauma Care Facilities (TCFs) were identified and provided financial support under the programme.

Considering the shortage of medical and paramedical personnel in trauma care facilities, the scheme, implemented during the 11th & 12th FYP, provided for financial support for manpower component to these facilities for a period of 3 years. Further, as per MoU signed with the states, the state governments are required to create permanent posts to undertake the liability of the contractual manpower recruited under the programme, to ensure unhindered functioning of the trauma care facilities.

In addition to this, various training courses are being provided for capacity building of the existing manpower at these trauma care facilities so that they can provide better healthcare services. These include Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) for doctors and Basic Life Support (BLS) for nurses. In addition, a Pre-Hospital Trauma Technician (PTT) course curriculum has also been developed under the Trauma scheme for paramedics to be posted in ambulances.

Road accidents occur due to multiple causes such as use of mobile phones while driving, drunken driving/consumption of alcohol/ drug, overloaded vehicle, poor light condition, jumping red light, over speeding, overtaking, neglect of civic bodies, weather condition, fault of driver, driving on wrong side, defect in road condition, defect in condition of motor vehicle, fault of cyclist, fault of pedestrian etc. In 2017, altogether 1,41,466 accidents had taken place on the National Highways, 1,42,339 in 2016 and 1,42,268 in 2015.

This information was given by the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on July 22, 2019, according to a PIB release.