NEW DELHI, Nov 7:
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said there was a need to include emergency medicine and trauma care in the curriculum of undergraduate medical courses.
He also urged all stakeholders in the health sector to develop programmes and manuals to train citizens in emergency first aid procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as they would help in saving lives while waiting for emergency services.
Speaking at the 10th Asian Conference of Emergency Medicine (ACEM), the vice president pointed out that over 3,700 die in accidents on world’s roads every day and tens of millions get injured or disabled every year.
Children, pedestrians, cyclists, and older people were among the most vulnerable of road users. Many of the road accident deaths could be prevented by providing immediate pre-hospital care, he said while calling for stepping up investments to provide timely and high-quality emergency health services in India.
“Apart from upgrading the infrastructure in all major hospitals to meet the requirements of this emerging specialty, there is also a need to include emergency medicine and trauma care in curriculum of undergraduate courses.
“Medical students must be trained to deal with whole gamut of situations relating to emergency medicine. There is also a need to provide simulation training in emergency medicine for undergraduates and develop the necessary modules in this regard,” Naidu said.
He said he was glad that the government has made it mandatory for all medical college hospitals to have full-fledged Emergency Departments by 2022 with an aim to improve trauma care.
Calling for steps to create a well-structured emergency medical services, he said that bystander training and protocols for trauma resuscitation were extremely important elements in improving the architecture of emergency medicine.
“Emergency care and emergency medicine played a vital role in the healthcare system. The initial management and stabilisation of a patient in need of emergency care is truly a speciality on its own and requires intensive training and resources. Very often the availability of emergency care makes the difference between life and death,” Naidu said.
“There is an urgent need to attach high priority to emergency medicine and services in India. We have to invest in providing timely and high-quality emergency health services in the country,” he said. (PTI)
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