Increase in the number of snakebite cases arriving at the State’s public health hospitals has got a city-run NGO to train paramedical and medical staff handling snakebite victims.
According to the NGO Helping Hand Foundation, there is a spike in snakebites during the monsoon season. Osmania General Hospital alone receives around 500 cases during the season. At other hospitals too the number is high. At Gandhi Hospital for instance, around 30 cases were recorded last month. Most victims arrive at the hospitals from surrounding districts. Often delay in administering first-aid and anti-venom shots at district hospitals worsens the victim’s health.
“The overall objective of this CME (Continuous Medical Education) programme in ‘Snake Bite’ management is to empower and equip emergency medicine clinicians at district level, so that the risk of morbidity and mortality is minimised by the time the affected patients are brought to the city for treatment,” said Mujtaba Hasan Askari of Helping Hand Foundation. As part of the training programme, every alternative Wednesday starting August 30, the NGO will conduct training sessions and workshops at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Punjagutta.
Of bigger concern to the NGO is the lack of facilities at district hospitals to treat bite victims. According to Mr. Askari, many of the victims are admitted with severe morbidity and increased mortality risk, if the bite was of a venomous snake, due to delay caused by travel to higher centres of health in the city. The foundation is planning to tie up with district and area hospitals to set up anti-venom centres and supply the pentavalent anti-serum vials. Mr. Askari said the foundation will foot the bill initially, then look for crowd-funding.
The setting up of such centres will also prove life-saving for residents of Hyderabad in case of snake bites. Given the number of snakes rescued by wildlife activists, it could be said such encounters are on the rise due to shrinking habitats of snakes.
