Hyderabad: The state will soon have 55 emergency and trauma centres as part of Telangana Emergency Response Initiative (TERI), which endeavours to provide immediate medical care to victims of accidents and emergencies so as to prevent loss of life.
Announcing the policy here on Friday, health minister T. Harish Rao said that the government was committed to providing healthcare to everyone and TERI was a part of this commitment. Under this initiative, services will be provided from the time information about an accident comes and the victim will be admitted to the nearby hospital and get treatment.
As part of the Tamil Nadu-inspired policy, TERI centres will be established across the state. They will provide emergency medical services for trauma, heart attack, brain stroke, maternal and child emergencies, and medical and surgical emergencies.
Rao said that the lack of coordination between pre-hospital, emergency services, rehabilitation, surgery, specialists, and investigation facilities were identified as the causes for high mortality rates, which the government aims to prevent with a timely response mechanism.
The minister said that trauma and road accidents account for 24 per cent of cases that come to the emergency department. Thirty five per cent of pre-hospital deaths and 40 per cent of trauma deaths occur within 24 hours of admission due to bleeding. Studies have shown that timely response can prevent 30 to 40 percent of such fatalities, he said.
The 55 hospitals to be established by the state include NIMS Super Specialty Hospital, 17 teaching hospitals, 21 district hospitals and 16 area hospitals. Services provided through TERI care centers will be divided into pre-hospital and intra-hospital services.
Apart from 426 fully-equipped ambulances, trained paramedics will provide emergency services. Once the victim is taken into the ambulance, the emergency medical technician will upload their health condition online so that upon reaching the nearest hospital, emergency department doctors will be ready to provide immediate treatment.
The centres will have advanced medical equipment, including autoclave machine, mobile x-ray, E-Fast, suction operators, defibrillators, sea arm, ultrasonography, ultrasound, CT scan, ventilators and OT Equipment apart from specialized doctors, trained nurses and paramedics.
