PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, Feb 25: The situation in terms of medical emergencies is far more overwhelming in the case of private hospitals but the situation is the opposite when it comes to the government hospitals of the district.
While taking a rough survey of the different private as well as government hospitals of the district, it was found that services rendered in the private hospitals in case of a medical emergency are crisp and accurate while in government hospitals it is time taking.
One cannot ignore the fact that the time-sensitive interventions of emergency care can avert death and disability for which delays of hours can worsen prognosis or render care less effective.
A person who met with an accident and had a bleeding head was brought to RIMS in an emergency. He had to first wait for nearly 20 minutes for his turn to get diagnosed by the doctor.
After getting diagnosed by the doctor, the attendant who arrived with the patient got the slip from the doctor to get a medical slip from the counter for CT-SCAN.
The attendant, when arrived at the counter, found that there was a huge line in front of the counter and no one else was ready to sacrifice his place as others were also in hurry. So, the attendant had to wait for another 30 minutes to get the slip from the counter.
Even after so many hurdles, the patient and the attendant had to still wait for the CT-SCAN to be done which took them nearly 50 minutes. After that, several other procedures were done and then the patient was referred to the concerned department for the proper treatment.
On the other hand, a person who had reached a private hospital in an emergency because of a road accident in which both his hands got fractured was attended by the consultant immediately and even the attendant who had arrived with the patient had not to do much work.
There was a special team for the attendant who helped him in completing the paperwork and within 5 minutes the paperwork was completed.
Though, the fact cannot be ignored that the government hospitals have a huge burden of emergency cases while the private hospitals get fewer cases in a day. And hence, it adds to the VIP treatment of the patient in a private one.
Moreover, in the case of a government hospital, one often has to go from one place to another to get different tests done as the hospitals don’t have ample facilities. Even when there are, the reports often get misplaced due to careless handling by concerned authorities as their job is fixed and there is no harm being done to them.
Medical emergencies including Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) are one of the major leading causes of death in India. RTIs alone contribute to 1.5 lakh deaths annually. Approximately 2 persons died of heart attack every hour in 2015-16.
Currently, non-communicable diseases alone account for ~62% of deaths in India and communicable infections, Maternal, Newborn account for ~27% of deaths. Most of these deaths present as emergency conditions.
As per one estimate, more than 50% of deaths and 40% of the total burden of disease in Low Middle-Income Countries could be averted with pre-hospital and emergency care.
The global total addressable deaths and DALYs that can be averted amount to 24.3 million and 1023 million lives respectively. In fact, in South-East Asia alone, 90% of deaths and 84% of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) are due to emergency and trauma conditions.
According to an expert, the following steps are needed to be taken on an immediate basis to increase the efficiency of the emergency care system:
- Develop a robust integrated emergency care service system that can comprehensively address all medical issues. Surgical emergencies inclusive of trauma-related care
- Standardize protocols, SOPs for emergency care, inclusive of triage to have a common optimal nationwide policy.
- Strengthen the prevailing pre-hospital services such that world-class ambulance services are made available 24×7, encompassing ongoing definitive care through effective paramedics, for all citizens of the country and, these should be optimally integrated with hospital care with an efficient pre-hospital arrival system using the latest Information Technologies.
- Create adequate space for emergency care systems at the prevailing health facilities such that standardized emergency departments with the recommended proportion of beds, infrastructure, equipment, drugs and human resources become a norm.
- Expand Blood Bank related services such that even smaller Government Hospitals are ensured timely availability of on-demand blood and its related products.
- Develop mechanisms to ensure free treatment for emergency care services for all citizens covering the minimal required period for early stabilization.
