New Delhi: The NITI Aayog on Friday released two comprehensive reports on the country level assessment of emergency and injury care at secondary and tertiary level centres in India.
A detailed analysis of existing gaps in all domains of emergency care encompassing ambulance services, infrastructure, human resources, equipment status, essential medicines, definitive care and burden of various diseases has been presented in these reports.
Besides this, reports of live observations of care and granular assessment with regard to accreditation, presence of ongoing academic program and type of organization have been done.
The reports were launched in the presence of Dr V K Paul, Member (Health) NITI Aayog and Dr Rakesh Sarwal, Additional Secretary, amongst other dignitaries. The studies were carried out by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Department of Emergency Medicine, JPNATC, AIIMS, New Delhi.
These studies have assessed the prevailing status of 100 emergency and injury care centres in government and private hospital settings in 28 States and 2 Union Territories, in addition to 34 district hospitals. Amongst the centres studied, those accredited and having an ongoing academic programme performed better, underscoring the need to have these measures in place.
The reports highlight the need to have a nationwide policy for triage, standardized protocols for care, world-class ambulance services augmented with effective paramedics and expansion of blood banks.
The landscape of emergency care includes timely access and acute care delivery to critically ill and injured patients. Premature death and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) can be prevented by establishing a robust integrated emergency care system with definitive care.
The outcomes of these studies will provide the policy inputs to improve and strengthen the emergency care services at all tiers of the healthcare facilities in India.
