The recent commendation by a professor at AIIMS, New
Delhi, for a private critical care ambulance service is a stark reminder of the
gaping void in India’s emergency medical response system. While the efficiency
and professionalism of this service are laudable, it is equally disheartening
that such life-saving interventions remain an exception rather than the norm.
In a country that records the highest number of road accident fatalities
globally, the absence of a structured trauma care system is nothing short of a
public health disaster.
India’s trauma care crisis stems from multiple
administrative and operational failures. The country lacks a national trauma
care policy, leaving emergency response fragmented and inadequate. Unlike the
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the United States, where first responders
are trained to administer critical pre-hospital care, India’s ambulance
services are largely ill-equipped and underfunded. Most ambulances in the
country function as mere transport vehicles rather than mobile intensive care
units. The consequence? Countless lives lost due to delays, lack of proper
intervention, and poor coordination between pre-hospital and hospital-based
care.
Moreover, the distribution of trauma centers in India is
abysmally uneven. While metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai have
dedicated trauma units, vast rural and semi-urban areas remain without access
to any form of structured emergency medical intervention. This disparity
exacerbates the crisis, as more than 70% of India’s population resides in rural
regions where immediate trauma care is often nonexistent.
The high number of fatalities from road, rail, and air
accidents further underscores the need for an overhaul of India’s emergency
response framework. According to statistics, the fatality rate from road
accidents alone stands at a staggering 25.3 per 10,000 vehicles. These numbers,
however, do not account for the thousands who suffer life-altering disabilities
due to delayed medical attention. A well-structured trauma care system could
significantly reduce these figures, but India’s healthcare priorities continue
to sideline this pressing issue.
The responsibility of trauma care cannot be left to
private enterprises alone. While initiatives like the one highlighted at AIIMS
showcase the potential of high-quality emergency response, the government must
step in to institutionalize trauma care as a national priority. A structured
approach is necessary, involving central and state governments, healthcare
institutions, and emergency response teams. This includes expanding the reach
of paramedic training, equipping ambulances with life-saving tools, ensuring
trauma centers in every district, and most importantly, integrating trauma
response into the national healthcare policy.
India can no longer afford to treat emergency medical
care as an afterthought. The current system, or lack thereof, costs thousands
of lives each year—lives that could be saved with timely intervention. It is
time for policymakers to recognize trauma care as an urgent necessity rather
than an aspirational goal.
