Highways without trauma care put lives at risk in Chittoor

Tirupati: Road accidents have become a daily occurrence on the national highways passing through the erstwhile Chittoor district, yet not a single trauma care centre is available to handle emergency cases.

The absence of such critical facilities, despite clear directions from the Central government, is resulting in delays in treatment and avoidable loss of lives, triggering serious concern among officials and the public alike.

Medical experts say the first hour after an accident is crucial and that timely shifting of victims to a trauma care centre can significantly improve survival chances. However, with no such centres along the highways, victims are forced to depend on nearby hospitals that can offer only preliminary treatment.

This gap in emergency care is being viewed as a major lapse in the healthcare system.

A significant number of those injured in highway accidents are pilgrims travelling to prominent temples like Tirumala, Kanipakam and Srikalahasti. Many pilgrims come from neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Accidents often occur due to driver fatigue, vehicles crossing dividers, or rash overtaking at high speeds.

The Central government had earlier instructed that trauma care centres be established in or near hospitals located along national highways and had also assured partial financial support for infrastructure and medical equipment.

These centres are meant to be equipped with specialists such as orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists, general surgeons, neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons and radiologists, along with facilities like CT scans, ultrasound and blood banks.

Doctors posted at these centres are trained specifically to handle emergency trauma cases.

In their absence, treatment delays are proving fatal in several instances, critics point out.

The erstwhile Chittoor district has a total of 12 national highways, with seven passing through Tirupati district and five through Chittoor district. On average, around 55 pedestrians and motorists lose their lives every month in road accidents in these two districts.

This amounts to nearly 660 deaths annually. About 1,480 people are injured every year, and 8 to 10 percent of them are left with permanent disabilities.

Though proposals were sent to establish trauma care centres at the Chittoor district hospital and area hospitals in Nagari, Palamaner and Kuppam, approvals are still pending. Tirupati district is facing a similar situation.

Officials feel that public representatives from both districts must intervene urgently to ensure sanctioning of trauma care centres and prevent further loss of precious lives.