Nagpur: Taking serious cognisance of certain major lacunae in the Trauma Centre (TC) at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) headed by Gopaldas Agrawal during a visit to the TC on Wednesday has directed the GMCH dean and other higher authorities to eliminate these deficiencies at the earliest.
The committee will be presenting its report in the monsoon legislative assembly session to the government. The committee held a hearing on Wednesday and has called for next hearing on May 29 at Mumbai.
Agrawal said that the TC should have an independent casualty to avoid any time lag between the patient reaching the TC and starting of the treatment to the patient. He said that since TC is supposed to be an emergency service the patient should get the benefit of getting all the diagnostic and treatment facilities within the golden hour so that the patient’s life is saved. The basic purpose he said of the TC is to have all diagnostic and treatment facilities under one roof.
The PAC head said suggested a foot over bridge between the GMCH and TC casualty so that patients can be transferred between the two hospitals without having to move in open in sun, rain and interference by the traffic vehicles. The committee has also suggested widening of the entry gate to the TC for bigger ambulances.
Agrawal also told the authorities to create a separate budget for the TC and increase the beds to the sanctioned strength. The TC at present has 160 of the 180 sanctioned posts filled.
Dr Pravin Shingare, the chief of directorate of medical education and research (DMER) told TOI that the committee has also suggested a portable CAT scan (costing Rs3 crore) at TC to avoid patient shifting to the scan unit. “There is at present a DSA (digital subtraction angiography) machine in the TC which is also used for GMCH patients. The committee has suggested restricting the existing machine to TC and buying one more GMCH for non-trauma patients,” he told TOI.
Dr Abhimanyu Niswade the GMCH dean said that not much changes were needed in starting a separate casualty. I would try to set up a casualty in TC immediately. We would also be setting up a ‘Skill Lab’ in the basement where doctors from peripheral areas will be trained in handling trauma patients. The central government would be funding this project. In fact, the TC can be upgraded into a Regional Trauma Training Centre and bring revenue for the TC.
