Times of India
22 July 2010
By Umesh Isalkar
Pune, India

Increase in mishaps renews demand for highway trauma centres, speed control devices
Funds Lie Unused 2 Yrs After Centre’s Prog For 7 Hospitals Was Launched
The state government hospitals, identified for setting up trauma care centres under the integrated Highway Trauma Care System, have been found to be faring poorly in the implementation of the programme even after two years.

The scheme envisages upgrading and strengthening select government hospitals along the national highways to L–III, L–II and L–I level trauma care centres in a phased manner to deal specially with accident cases. However, barring the hospital in Vashi, none of the seven hospitals, including the Sassoon general hospital in Pune, has fully utilised the funds granted by the Union government in 2008–09 for constructing trauma care unit or modifying existing building into a trauma care unit.

“We have inspected the progress made by the seven government hospitals identified for setting up trauma care units under the scheme in 2008–09. Many of them have been unable to either procure land for construction of the trauma unit or modify the existing building into a trauma unit. Some have not even cared to give any reasons for the delay. The status report has been sent to the Union ministry of health and family welfare on July 19. Lack initiative and planning have hampered the progress,” S B Nadoni, senior regional director, regional office for health and family welfare, Government of India, told TOI on Wednesday.

India, which records a death due to road accident every two minutes, rolled out the integrated highway trauma care system in January 2008. The Union ministry of health and family welfare is implementing the scheme along the Golden Quadrilateral and the north–south and east–west corridors of the national highways in the 11th Five Year Plan at a total cost of Rs 732.75 crore.

The seven hospitals which have received grants for establishing trauma care units are the government medical college and hospital, Kolhapur (80 lakh); district hospital, Satara (Rs 65 lakh); B J medical college and Sassoon hospital, Pune (Rs 80 lakh); municipal hospital, Vashi (Rs 1.76 crore); subdistrict hospital, Dahanu, Thane (Rs 65 lakh), sub–district hospital, Hinganghat, Wardha (Rs 65 lakh) and the government medical college and hospital, Nagpur (Rs 80 lakh).

“A total grant of Rs 6.11 crore was distributed to these hospitals in the first phase. Of which, Rs 4.35 crore has remained unutilised,” said Nadoni.

“Only the municipal hospital, Vashi, has fully utilised the grants and developed a trauma care centre under the supervision of a nodal officer. I am very pleased with their work and recommended to the Union government to allot them a CT scan unit,” Nadoni said. When contacted, state health minister Suresh Shetty said, “I will check with these hospitals the reasons for delay in setting up the trauma units.”

State health secretary Sharvari Gokhale refused to comment on the issue.