4,500 road deaths a year in Punjab, but all 5 trauma centres non-functional

Tribune News Service

Vishav Bharti

Chandigarh, November 21

Around 4,500 lives are lost every year due to road accidents in Punjab but not even one trauma centre is functional in the state.

The state government had opened five trauma centres a decade back at Jalandhar, Pathankot, Khanna, Ferozepur and Fazilka but none of them is functional today.

The trauma centre at Khanna has turned into a gynaecological unit, while the one in Jalandhar served as a Covid centre during the pandemic, and now lies shut.

The funding for the setting up and the initial running of the centres came from the Central Government.

Despite having modern buildings and latest equipment, the five centres were closed about five years back when the Centre stopped funding the salary for the staff.

The trauma units virtually remained non-starters as none of them had a neurosurgeon for treating head injuries. Incidentally, the entire state government medical setup is without a neurosurgeon.

There is also a serious flaw in the location of these centres. As per the trauma care norms, medical facility should be available on highways. But in Punjab, all five centres were opened in district or civil hospitals, leading to accessibility issues. The issue was recently discussed with the Centre at a meeting, where the Tamil Nadu model was appreciated. Between 2017 and 2021, TN had 17.75 lakh cases of persons with trauma injuries and out of them, 11,525 died. As per the national data, every third person suffering from trauma injuries dies.

When contacted Neelima, Managing Director, Punjab Health Systems Corporation, said the problem with the five centres was lack of manpower. “We will sort out the issue soon,” she said. (Inputs from Kulwinder Sandhu in Moga)

Fund crunch

• 5 trauma centres at Jalandhar, Pathankot, Khanna, Ferozepur and Fazilka opened with Central funding a decade ago
• After initial help from Centre, state was required to fund them
• The state, however, shut the units after Centre stopped funding five years ago

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