New Delhi, February 09: With many accident victims dying due to lack of proper care during transportation to a health facility, the government is planning to bring in a National Ambulance Code to ensure timely delivery of emergency services and prevent loss of life.
The Ministry of Road and Transport proposes to come up with a National Ambulance Code for timely delivery of first aid to victims in order to prevent any loss of life, Dr Shakti Gupta, medical superintendent of the AIIMS Trauma Centre said addressing the first International Congress on Emergency Medical Services System being held here.
Underlining the need for such a code, Dr Gupta said, “Forty to fifty per cent deaths of accident victims happen due to inadequate care during transportation. The real concept of an ambulance is missing in India.
“Existing ambulances are more like transport vehicles and any vehicle suitable to lay a patient is termed as an ambulance. The ambulance is inadequately equipped. There is lack of appropriate and safe tansport for the injured patient in the form of road ambulancne, air ambulamce etc. That is why there is a need for the NAC.”
Dr Suresh David, Head of the dpeartment of Accident and Emergency Medicine at Vellore’s Christian Medical College, said, “In the year 2009, 97 per cent of the trauma victims came by private vehicles. In the year 2010 we found that 37 per cent came by ambulance. 85 per cent of the accident victims reached the hospital after 60 minutes.”
Chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre Dr MC Misra said, “Approximately 1,20,000 young lives were lost in road crashes in 2008 alone. The casualties in the road accidents has increased by 7.3 per cent in 2009. 1,08,409 males and 18,487 females were killed in a road accident in the year 2009 which is equal to jumbo crashing everyday. The National Health profile of India 2009 lists injury as the third leading cause of death in India.”
–Agencies