US-based doc on mission to upgrade trauma care in city

Dr Harmandeep Singh Boparai, who is the inaugural director of a trauma division at a major centre, Brookdale Hospital in New York, USA, is on a mission to standardise trauma care in ICUs and operation theatres in India, starting with his home city of Amritsar. Trained at world renowned universities in the US in ‘Trauma, Critical Care and Anaesthesia’, he received accolades for his front-line work during the Covid pandemic, both in India and the US.

Now in collaboration with the management, doctors and staff at Dukh Niwaran Hospital, Dr Boparai is leading efforts in the education of doctors and nurses in trauma response and emergency life-support in ICUs and OTs. “Research studies have shown that standardised trauma care protocols can decrease deaths and consistently improve outcomes and quality of life for patients when compared to non-protocol care,” Dr Boparai said.

A strict adherence to protocols takes away delays or human errors in trauma care. Protocols exist for trauma care for different injuries and different populations, he said.

The doctors at Dukh Niwaran Hospital, with Dr RPS Boparai (Orthopaedics), Dr Gurbinderpal Singh (Neurosurgeon), Dr Tejinder Singh (Anaesthesia & critical care), Dr Sanjay Kapoor (ENT), Dr Vinod Kumar (Medicine), Dr Manbir Singh (Urology), Dr Parminder Singh Bhullar (Ortho) and Dr Kawaldeep Kaur (Gyanecologist) are working in this collaboration. They would strive to become a leading centre not just for the care of patients but also for education on trauma protocols for the city’s hospitals. “We want to ensure that every patient who meets with an accident has that best chance of survival and a good recovery to be with their families. We are dedicated to bring this international protocol-based care to Amritsar,” he said.