Pune's Lokmanya Hospital provides succour to accident victims

Even as ambulances services and tertiary care hospitals run by state along Mumbai-Pune Expressway are in dire straits, the emergency medical services (EMS) unit run by a private hospital — Lokmanya Hospital in Nigdi — has come as a godsend for trauma victims.

No more proof is needed of its efficacy than the fact that more than 44,000 accident victims owe their lives to Lokmanya Hospital’s EMS unit.

Started in 2000, the EMS unit was conceived by Dr Narendra Vaidya, trustee of hospital and noted orthopaedic and joint replacement surgeon.

The doctor, who trained abroad in specialised EMS services, realised the need for such a centre and started the Golden Hour concept in Pune.

“Till 2011, the hospital had saved 44,000 lives. These road traffic accident cases were victims of polytrauma and severe head injuries. We have 23 mobile trauma critical care units or specialised ambulances with transport ventilators, oxygen cylinders, cardiac monitors and other emergency medicines that are comparable to international standards. We have been successfully reaching victims at accident spots within eight minutes,’’ said Dr Vaidya.  Explaining the Golden Hour concept, Dr Vaidya said it was important to reach the patient within first 10 minutes and hence, six ambulances are parked at strategic points along the Mumbai-Pune expressway and the old highway.

“After reaching the spot, trained paramedics have to first check for AVPU concept i.e. if patient is alert, responds to verbal commands, responds to pain or is unresponsive. Spot treatment is given accordingly and depending on the situation, a decision is taken to shift the patient to a hospital with facilities required for patient’s injuries. In India, we lose 40% patients while just transporting to hospitals and our aim is to save these lives,’’ said Vaidya.

Once brought to hospital, the patient is provided treatment like operative services, diagnostics or just medical aid depending on situation and stabilised within an hour. The hospital has also established a medico legal cell and a comprehensive rehabilitation unit for accident victims in its EMS unit.

The hospital also tried experimenting with other forms of transportation as ambulances were facing problems in reaching patients due to sudden traffic jams. Scooters were modified into ambulances to maneuver through traffic and Rapid Trauma Rescue Units (RTRU) were started.

“But that didn’t work very well as we couldn’t convince doctors to risk lives on expressway by travelling on a scooter to rescue patients. However, we do plan to start air lifting facilities facility for patients, though currently, we find it too expensive,’’ admitted Vaidya.

The hospital’s contract with Ideal Road Builders (IRB) has been renewed till 2014 for providing EMS services along expressway. Besides Mumbai-Pune stretch, the hospitals provides EMS services along Mumbai-Bangalore, Pune-Nashik and Surat highway.

Asked about his observations for enhancing EMS services along expressway to reduce mortality and his answer is simple, get ambulances and trained paramedics.

“You have to help the victims fast and make sure the person looking after them knows his job. Of course, we need more ambulances to reduce the time taken to reach the patient but we need trained paramedical staff. Doctors are unwilling to be posted in ambulances. Hence, the first point of contact for seriously injured victims are medics who need training to assess the patient’s needs. Besides checking for vitals like airway, breathing, circulation and deformity, it is medic who will decide where patient should be taken which is a vital decision,’’ explained Vaidya.