HEALTH

World Health Day
Trauma on PGI trolleys
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 7
Bursting at the seams due to patient load from the entire region, especially trauma cases, the PGI emergency as against its capacity of 150 is catering to almost double the number of patients, with the trolleys on which patients keep lying for days choking the space within the wards.

“The number of patients on trolleys is far more than those occupying beds and at times it becomes difficult for us to give treatment to the injured due to the overcrowding and paucity of space inside the emergency,” remarked a senior doctor. Infact the faculty members in their first interaction with the new PGI Director, Prof K.K. Talwar, raised this issue, demanding streamlining of the emergency services.

The total number of patients in the emergency today was above 285, with large number of patients receiving treatment on trolleys for the last two days. “With limited bed strength we have no option but to put patients on trolleys, as we cannot turn them away as ours is a referral institute,” remarked a senior resident.

He admitted that at times there is delay in providing treatment to the patients despite the best efforts of the doctors as there is a lot of burden due to poor health care facilities in the periphery. The maximum pressure is on the Trauma-A Ortho ward, where there were more than 60 patients, today. The number of patients in emergency surgical and medical OPD was close to 50 each.

“There is so much overcrowding that very often we have to call the security personnel to ask the attendants of patients to move out from the wards as there isn’t enough space to even provide treatment and care,” rue doctors as well as nurses.

In case of any accident or trauma in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, patients are rushed to the PGI. With the CT-scan machine at Government Medical College and Hospital being installed barely a month ago and General Hospital, still awaiting approval, PGI, has had to bear the entire load of the city, with a population over nine lakh.

It was in October,1997 that the Rs 5 crore New Emergency Block was commissioned with a bed strength of 150. “Though this emergency had far more beds than the old one but with so much of pressure on the PGI, even this is falling short,” admits a PGI official.

Though there is a proposal to construct an Advanced Trauma Centre cum Operation Theatre Block at an estimated cost of Rs 23 crore but with the completion of the ongoing projects at the PGI too getting delayed due to paucity of funds it will take time before work can be started. “Though we can create space to place more beds in the emergency but with limited finances we are not in a position to bear the daily expenditure, which is required to be spent on each bed here,” explained an official.

PGI to train cops in first aid
Tribune News Service

Suggestions to treat victims Ambulances should be well equipped so that pre-hospital care can be improved. Driving tests being taken by the licensing authority must be made more stringent. Liquor kiosks along the roads and national highways should be closed down. Awareness on use of seat belts, helmets and air cushions should be created for protection and to minimise the extent of injury. The public and schoolchildren must be educated about traffic signs and road safety rules. Everyone should be covered under the Motor Vehicle Act which needs to be made more stringent.

Chandigarh, April 7
The PGI will train the UT police personnel on duty with the Police Control Room (PCR) in first aid care so that basic medical help can be provided to accident victims while they are being evacuated to hospital.

It was during a seminar on “Road Safety No Accident” on the occasion of World Health Day that the PGI Director, Prof K.K. Talwar, assured the police that this was a simple task which the institute was willing to undertake.

The SP, Traffic, Mr Amitabh Dhillon, had earlier suggested that like some private hospitals in Delhi, the PGI could train the constables on PCR duty in giving first aid care to accident victims.

With an accident-related call being made to the PCR cell every two hours, a total of 134 persons died in accidents on the city roads, last year. “While maximum number of accidents take place during 4 p.m to 10 pm (55 per cent) , it is the pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheelers drivers which are victims,” said Mr Dhillon.

Citing the constraints faced by the police he said since 1974 not even a single police post had been added to the city whereas the population had almost tripled and the road network increased two times.

A number of participants felt that the Rs 4.50 crore that the UT Police had collected through challans, should be spent on educating the public, especially school children in road safety rules and traffic signs. “We were keen to do that but a request made by us in this regard two years back was turned down,” informed Mr Dhillon. He added that the suggestions given by the police to the Road Engineering Cell were never implemented.

During the seminar, Head of General Surgery at PGI, Prof J.D. Wig, Head of Neurosurgery, Prof V.K. Khosla and Dr R.K. Sen from Orthopaedics Department spoke about the preventive measures and precautions that must be taken to avoid accidents. Students from St John’s, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School and DAV, Sector 15, also interacted with doctors and police officials.

Diabetic alleges negligence by doctor
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, April 7
Maya Devi did not realise that she was in for a shock. When the 65-year-old diabetic was taken to a Nawanshahr hospital, she had no reasons to suspect that the attending doctor would subject her to “defibrillator” shocks. Admitted to a hospital in Chandigarh with burns on her chest and fractured ribs, Maya claims that she had to bear the brunt of 60 to 70 shocks.

Sitting next to her, Maya’s daughter, Asha, said her breathless mother was admitted to the Nawanshahr hospital on April 27 following an increase in the sugar level. But during her three-day stay, the doctor subjected her to shocks.

Claiming that the application of shock was necessary, the doctor said Maya had suffered a cardiac arrest. “For reviving the patient, we had to give her numerous shocks. The burning of skin after the application of shocks is natural,” he added.

Refuting the claim, her family alleged that Maya was not suffering from heart ailment. “Even if she was suffering from heart problem, application of 70 shocks after every five minutes is completely unheard of,” Asha said.

The doctors did not even give them the X-ray report or any other medical records. “The patient was discharged after prescribing some medicines on a hospital letter head”, she claimed.

Another relative Amarjit Singh alleged, “We were told that there was a little hope as her kidneys were not working and she was suffering from a cardiac arrest too. None of us can forget those three days of hell at the Nawanshahr hospital.”

Still we got her discharged at midnight on March 31 after spending about Rs 30,000. The hospital authorities did not even arrange for an ambulance with proper oxygen facilities for shifting her to other hospital. “We had to bring Maya Devi to Chandigarh Medical Centre (CMC) in our own car,” he added.

The Deputy Medical Superintendent of the CMC Dr Col Raj Kumar Sharma, and a Cardiac Anaesthetists, Dr Col K.S. Johar, are currently attending upon Maya Devi.

Dr Raj Kumar said, “At present her heart condition is stable and her sugar is also under control. She is having fractured ribs which will take some time to get cured”.

Giving details of her previous condition, he said, “Most likely the doctor at Nawanshahr was not able to diagnose the problem properly. She came to the CMC with “diabetic ketoacidosis” and fractured ribs.

SPORTS

CLTA trainees sail into second round
Our Sports Reporter

Izreek Singh Randhawa of Chandigarh in action during the first round of the main draw of the AITA Super Series Tennis Meet being held at CLTA stadium, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. — A Tribune photograph

Chandigarh, April 7
Third seed Vijayant Malik and Gurmohit Singh, both CLTA trainees from Chandigarh, sailed into the next round of the boys under-14 section of the AITA Super Series Tennis tournament on the first day at the CLTA Tennis Stadium, Sector 10, today. Vijayant recorded two wins each in under-14 and under-18 sections when he outplayed Sidharth Singh Baidwan and Manav Dhawan respectively. In the girls under-14 section, Inayat Khosla a trainee of the Total Tennis Academy, Sector 11, gave a better display of her strokes by defeating Renuka Keswani of Delhi in straight sets. The following are the results:

Boys under 14: (first round): Yuki Bhambri (DLI) b Nihal Kapoor (TN) 6-2, 6-3; V. Barani (AP) b A.N. Muddappa (KAR) 6-3, 6-1; Uday K. Singh Puniha (CHD) b Chandril Sood (DLI) 6-4, 6-4; Karanuday Singh (DLI) b Dhruv Gurwara (DLI) 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2; Vijayant Malik (CHD) b Sidharth Singh Baidwan (CHD) 6-1, 6-0; Gurmohit Singh (CHD) b Ashwani Kumar Thapar (CHD) 6-1, 6-0; Venkat Iyer (DLI) b Vikas Chouhan (HAR) 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-2; Lakshit Sood (DLI) b Man Singh Athare (MAH) 7-6 (3), 6-7(6), 6-3; V. Sudarshan (TN) b Pulkit Mishra (DLI) 7-6 (5), 6-1; Abhijeet Tiwari (CHG) b Bharat Bhardwaj (UP) 6-1, 6-0; Nikhil Kumar Reddy (AP) b Parul Verma (CHD) 3-0 (retd.); Prateek Bhambri (DLI) b Dody Barani Irawan (DLI) 6-2, 6-1; N. Sri Ram Balaji (TN) b Suchash C. Rao (DLI) 6-2, 7-5; Shiva Sangwan (CHD) b Ujjwal Khanna (PB) 6-1, 6-3; Ankit Sachdeva (DLI) b Himanshu Mali (MAH) 6-2, 6-1.

Boys under 18 (first round): Vivek Shokeen (DLI) b Neil Rajpal (DLI) 6-2, 6-1; Jitin Bishnoi (HAR) b Sanjog Kapoor (CHD) 6-1, 6-2; Satvir Singh (PB) b Ramu Arun (TN) 6-2, 3-6 (retd.); Vijayant Malik (CHD) b Manav Dhawan (PB) 6-3, 7-6(6); Gursher Singh Harika (CHD) b Himanshu Mali (MAH) 6-2, 6-2; Izreek Singh Randhawa (CHD) b Karan Dhillon (WB) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2; Harman Bir (PB) b Suraj AM (KAR) 6-2, 7-6(1); Alan Moses (MAH) b Farid Alam (WB) 6-4, 7-6 (6); Mohammad Rasheed (AP) b Anmol Arora (RAJ) 7-6 (0), 4-6; 6-1; S. Balaji (TN) b Agnibesh Dasgupta (DLI) 6-3, 6-2; Rahil Makharia (MAH) b Manjit Singh (CHD) 6-2, 6-2; Arpit Sharma (WB) b V. Sudharshan (TN) 6-2, 6-2; Yogesh Phogat (HAR) b Naneenth Kannan (TN) 7-5, 5-6, 6-3; Ankit Sudhir (MAH) b Abhijeet Tiwari (CHG) 6-0, 6-2; Navinder Pal Singh (CHD) b Kaushal Mahale (MAH) 6-1, 7-5.

Girls under 14 (first round): Prerna Mythri (AP) b Rishika Sunkara (DLI) 6-3, 6-4; Inayat Khosla (CHD) b Renuka Keswani (DLI) 6-4, 6-2; Anushka Kapoor (DLI) b Ankita Raina (GUJ) 6-3, 6-3; Shahin Ansari (TN) b Gopika Kapoor (DLI) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; Prachi Nankarni (MAH) b Archana V. (AP) 6-2, 6-4; Kelsey Sundram (TN) b Monika Menon (DLI) 6-4, 7-5; Unnati Purshotam (AP) b Rishima Borooah (ASM) 6-0, 6-1; Amrita Seth (DLI) b Aishwarya YP (AP) 6-3, 6-3; Tanya Kapoor (DLI) b Henna Ahuja (DLI) 6-3, 6-1; Janani Suresh (TN) b Ankita Singh (CHD) 6-0, 6-1; Navjot Saini (PB) b Susita (ORI) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Danielle Jones (DLI) b Khyati Thakur (DLI) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Sweta K. Solanki (DLI) b G. Janki S. Rao (AP) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2; Prerna Bhambri (DLI) b Shradha Singh (CHD) 6-2, 6-2; Garima Vatwani (DLI) b Mahak (CHD) 6-3, 6-4.

Blood donation camp

The Sports Department, Chandigarh Administration, will hold a blood donation camp on its premises tomorrow beginning 10 am. This was stated by Dr J.P.S. Sidhu, Joint Director, UT Sports Department.

Army athletics meet

AMBALA: Archer Division team is leading the medal tally in the Army Western Command athletics meet which entered its third day on Wednesday.

Archer Division is followed by Ram Division in the second position while Sudarshan Chakra Division is in third position on the basis of points garnered in various events.

In javelin throw, Sepoy Naveen Chaudhary of Archer Division stood first, Naik Muni Krishna of Sudarshan Chakra division won second position while Gunner Ram Murti of Chetak division remained third.

Pole vault: Havildar Raju Ram of Black Elephant 1; Sepoy Ajith Kumar of Pine Division 2; and Sepoy Kulbir Singh of Panther Division 3.

10-km run: Gunner Jagdish Singh of Ran Bankura division 1; Lance Naik Alok Kumar of Panther Division 2; and Sepoy Hira Singh of Ram Division 3. TNS