KEM gets city’s first dedicated casualty service for children

“We have created a four-bed emergency facility within our existing casualty department which will be taken care of by paediatricians,” Dr Sangeeta Ravat, dean, KEM Hospital, said.

Mumbai: In a first in the city, KEM Hospital in Parel on Thursday started dedicated paediatric casualty services. “We have created a four-bed emergency facility within our existing casualty department which will be taken care of by paediatricians,” Dr Sangeeta Ravat, dean, KEM Hospital, said.

The hospital has also inaugurated an 8-bedded emergency orthopaedic facility along with the paediatric service. “In the casualty, we see many poly-trauma cases which do not require surgery immediately but require doctors trained to handle trauma patients who will stabilise them before shifting them to the ward,” said Dr Ravat. (HT PHOTO)

Dr Sanjeev Kumar, the additional municipal commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) inaugurated the facility.

Dr Ravat said that earlier whenever paediatric casualty got children in the emergency, they had to wait for the paediatrician to arrive and evaluate the child before planning the course of treatment.

“We get children who may require neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, orthopaedic surgery etc. But before being taken up for surgery, the child needs to be stabilised when he or she comes to the casualty. Before another speciality doctor comes and sees the child, you need a doctor to look after the child till then. We thought having dedicated paediatric beds in our casualty will help in better management of the child’s health,” she said.

Dr Ravat added that the department will also have a nebulisation facility along with a ventilator and other needed facilities for paediatric healthcare. “We get children with asthma attacks in the causality. They do not require admission and can be discharged after giving nebulisation,” she said.

“The role of emergency care is bridging the gap between the emergency room (casualty) and intensive care (ICU) by giving the patient immediate medical attention. You need nurses and doctors trained to handle paediatric cases. For example, if a child comes down with asthma, he or she has to be stabilised with nebulisation by giving bronchodilators, etc. A delay in treatment can worsen the child’s condition and require intensive care as well as complication chances are longer,” he said.

The hospital has also inaugurated an 8-bedded emergency orthopaedic facility along with the paediatric service. “In the casualty, we see many poly-trauma cases which do not require surgery immediately but require doctors trained to handle trauma patients who will stabilise them before shifting them to the ward,” said Dr Ravat.