E-Paper
U.P. plans stabilisation centres on highways for trauma care of mishap victims
The chances of saving the life of road accident victims increase if they get emergency medical care in the first hour called golden hour of their meeting with an accident
Uttar Pradesh is planning to set up emergency stabilisation centres (ESCs) at every 50 km on highways in the state to provide required medical care to road accident victims in crucial ‘golden hour’, the first sixty minutes after a traumatic injury, to stabilise their condition before victims are referred to the nearest hospital for further treatment.
Transport department officials dealing with the issue said a formal proposal in this regard would be put before chief minster Yogi Adityanath during the State Road Safety Council’s meeting scheduled to be held very soon. “We have been asking the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to set up emergency stabilisation centres on all the highways under them, but they are avoiding doing it,” a senior transport official said requesting anonymity.
“Now, we have decided to propose the same in the State Road Safety Council’s meeting to be attended by all the concerning departments, including the NHAI, so that the CM may issue directions for a policy on setting up stabilisation centres on national highways under the NHAI as well as on expressways and state highways under the state government agencies,” he added.
Tamil Nadu, he pointed out, had successfully established ESCs on some of their highways. Despite reporting a lower number of road accidents than many other states, Uttar Pradesh continues to maintain the dubious distinction of witnessing the highest number deaths in the country.
A report ‘Road Accidents in India’ released recently by the Union ministry of road transport and highways put U.P. with 22,595 road accidents deaths in 2022 on the first place but on the fourth position in number of road accidents (41,746) after Tamil Nadu, MP and Kerela.
Nationally also, only 1,68,491 people died in as many as 4,61,312 reported cases of road mishaps in the country, casualties being 36% vis-a-vis number of road accidents against 54% in U.P.
“The lack of availability of prompt treatment to the critically injured persons in the golden hour is one of the main reasons for U.P. reporting the highest number of road accidents deaths despite reporting a lower number of mishaps in the country,” the official said.
The chances of saving the life of road accident victims, according to him, significantly increase if they get emergency medical care in the first hour of their meeting with an accident. “The emergency stabilisation centres that we have proposed to set up at every 50 km on highways can play a crucial role in saving precious lives of hundreds and thousands of people every year,” he said.
Such centres, he said, could have paramedical staff and tie-ups with doctors within five-six km radius so that they can be called to an ESC within 15 minutes of a victim being rushed there. “Once the condition of the patient stabilises, they can be referred to the nearest district or other hospital for proper treatment,” the official said.
Uttar Pradesh has been ranked number one in highway accidents deaths in the country between 2019 and 2022. As many as 8,479 people died in 14,990 accidents on highways in U.P. in 2022 and 6,011 of them were killed on the national highways alone.
