Once again it has claimed lives of patients; no trauma care facility at our district hospitals is staring us in the face. What happened at Kulgam just days before has brought into bold relief one of the grave inadequacies in our healthcare system. Reportedly 3 civilians that lost lives in the Kulgam incident lost the battle for life while they were being shifted from South Kashmir to Srinagar. On reaching the SMHS they had almost given up. The loss of blood, accumulation of fluid in chest cavity, and other complications had sealed their fate. The question is, could this have been avoided. Those who know the healthcare of modern times know it well that how a small intervention at right time can save a life. If these unfortunate injured ones could have received timely trauma care, the story would have been different. When it takes hours to reach the place of treatment, the dice is already loaded against the unfortunate victims. Had there been some critical care ambulances at different hospitals in the vicinity, the crucial minutes would not have been lost. The treatment could have started well before, till the specialists, and the well equipped operation theatres at SMHS, could take the injured over. It is not the first time that Greater Kashmir, through its reports, has underlined the need of having critical care ambulances available at different hospitals. We have brought this medical need to focus time and again; in the hope that the people in the positions of power and responsibility would take heed. This time again the point is brought to the notice of the concerned. At the cost of repetition we say this; the ambulances available at our district and sub-district hospitals are mere carrier vehicles that transport patients from one place to another. What we need is proper ambulances that have the facilities fitted in for taking care of emergencies. It is those first few minutes that decided the fate of a life. You take proper care of those few minutes, and a life is saved. You lose the minutes, and a life is lost.
Lack of trauma care
