Road accidents claim over 1 lakh lives in India every year; most deaths and disabilities are due to lack of adequate trauma care

With rising incidents of trauma becoming a major concern, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon today conducted special awareness sessions for schoolchildren in the city to educate them about trauma, need for prevention and basic life saving skills to save critically injured victims.

World Trauma Day presents an opportunity to highlight the increasing rate of accidents and injuries causing death and disability across the world and the need to prevent them.

Trauma injuries may be caused due to many reasons like road accidents, fires, burns, falls , acts of violence and crimes against the vulnerable population including women, children and elderly. Amongst all the causes, road accidents are the leading cause of trauma. Many injuries may lead to temporary or permanent disability while others may even cause death.

The awareness session on Trauma was conducted by Dr Imtiyaz Gani, Head of Emergency for children of Lancer’s International school, CD International School, Atul Kataria School etc . The doctor spoke about how a lot of trauma injuries are preventable by adopting safety protocols and how many lives can be saved if onlookers and first responders are trained in basic life saving skills.

“Millions of people are hospitalized every year due to trauma or injuries. While many injuries may lead to temporary or permanent disability, others may cause death. In India, s across the world, the leading cause of trauma deaths and disability are road accidents. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), about 1,37,000 people died in road accidents in India in 2013.  The burden of disease due to trauma is increasing at an alarming rate. It is not only important to equip hospitals with better trauma management centres but also important to raise awareness about risks and prevention,” said Dr Gani.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has projected that by 2020 road accidents may account for as many as 546,000 deaths in India. With individual alertness, adoption of better safety protocols and right hospital response a large number of lives can be saved in India.

“Many lives are lost due to inadequate emergency care provided to the victims of road accidents in India. In many cases, an equipped Trauma Centre is not near the accident site, and the hospital the victim is rushed to is incapable of responding appropriately. At the same time, most first responders are not educated about interventions needed to stop bleeding which can save many lives. Strict adherence to emergency and life saving protocol and absence of any delay in managing the patients,” said Dr Gani.

During the session schoolchildren from 15 to 1 years of age were also provided Basic Life Saving (BLS) training to equip them with the ability to save lives. They were trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and measures needed to stop bleeding in victims.

Dr Gani also spoke about the importane of Golden Hour in saving trauma patients. In case of an accident victim, every second is crucial. It is important that the injured receives medical care within the golden hour, the time period lasting for around one hour following traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical treatment will prevent death.