A sophisticated trauma care and management system on the lines of the trauma management centre at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will become functional within six months at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) here, Health Minister K.K. Shylaja has said.
Level 1 trauma care, to be provided by tertiary-care level institutions, is being readied at MCH. A department in Emergency Medicine is also being started at the MCH, Ms. Shylaja said, while on a visit to the new casualty block being readied at the MCH on Tuesday.
Professor of Emergency Medicine Sanjeev Kumar Bhoi and Associate Professor Tej Prakash Sinha from the Jai Prakash Narayan Trauma Apex Care Centre (JPNTAC), AIIMS, accompanied her.
Well-networked system
With the number of road accidents shooting up in the State, the Health Department was attempting to provide a well-networked trauma-care system across the State. A well-entrenched system, including a network of ambulances, was expected to be ready within two years.
The Minister said that she had visited JPNTAC at AIIMS, along with other officials. Following this, a team from AIIMS had reached the MCH here in April and studied the facilities needed to be put in here. A team of doctors and nurses from various hospitals have already undergone a course in trauma management at AIIMS.
Apart from the MCH here, trauma-care system will be readied in Alappuzha, Ernakulam, and Neyyattinkara General Hospitals in the first phase, Ms. Shylaja said.
New casualty wing
The new casualty wing is being readied near the main entrance of the MCH. The second phase of the construction activities is nearing completion. The casualty block in two floors will be connected by both lift as well as ramp.
All diagnostic facilities, including X-ray, ultrasound scan, CT scan, and MRI scan are being readied within the block, on the cellar floor. At present, all these diagnostic facilities are scattered in various places far from the current casualty wing and it takes much time as well as effort to complete emergency diagnostic procedures required for trauma victims.
The ground-level block will have the reception, triaging area, various emergency divisions, surgical and medical ICUs, operation theatres, pre- and post-operation rooms and an observation ward with 80 beds.
Facilities
There will be eight operation theatres (the current Casualty wing has three) in the refurbished new casualty, with separate facilities for surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics and including a septic operation theatre, surgery procedure room, and ortho procedure room.
A one-way approach road and exit and parking facility will complete the new centre.
Over a thousand patients turn up at the MCH casualty on a daily basis.
