World Trauma Day was observed at the Apollo Speciality Hospitals, OMR, on Saturday. During the event, a pledge was taken to keep roads safe and prevent accidents.
An awareness programme titled ‘The road to recovery’ was also held.
M. Ravi, ADGP, Tamil Nadu Special Task Force; N. Kannan, Additional Commissioner, Traffic; J. Kumaragurubaran, Managing Director, SIPCOT and ELCOT; and Suneeta Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group took part in the event.
World Trauma Day is observed on October 17 every year to propagate the need of averting deaths and disabilities caused by accidents or trauma. According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Tamil Nadu ranks first in road accidents for the third year, with over 156 road accident cases per day. The State recorded 57,228 road accidents in 2019.
With statistics revealing that 22.8% of all trauma was due to transport-related accidents, ‘The road to recovery’ programme emphasised the importance of saving and protecting lives in the most critical of situations and the measures to handle and avoid trauma fatalities.
Ms. Reddy said that while the pandemic has spread to 188 countries or regions across the world, road accidents affect more people than COVID-19 does. “This day is a call to action to build robust measures to avoid disability and death caused by road accidents. Quality emergency and trauma care is essential to save lives; the damage from trauma can be prevented with quick and early medical intervention,” she said.
A series of awareness activities has also been planned in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Police Department, government agencies and other NGOs to highlight road safety.
