Pune: Sassoon Hospital’s emergency ward and trauma care centre, which operates 24/7 to treat a wide range of medical emergencies, including road accidents and domestic violence cases, is grappling with a severe shortage of personnel and equipment.
Key Challenges:
- Limited Operating Theatres: The trauma centre has only two operating theatres (OTs), which are shared with other hospital departments. Despite this limitation, the centre performs 1,500 surgeries annually, averaging four surgeries per day. This includes complex cases, particularly head trauma.
- Critical Shortage of Medical Staff: The centre operates with just one neurologist and one anaesthesiologist, which is insufficient given the high number of trauma cases, especially those requiring urgent neurosurgery. While equipment can be purchased, staffing remains a significant issue. Dr. Shrinivas Shintre, in charge of the emergency ward and trauma care, emphasized that additional neurologists and anaesthesiologists are needed to expand the centre’s capacity.
- Overburdened with Medico-Legal Cases: In addition to treating severe injuries, the trauma centre also handles all medico-legal cases, adding to the workload. The 24×7 operation of the centre often leads to delays in treatment, especially when surgeries extend for hours.
Infrastructure Shortcomings:
- Insufficient Diagnostic Equipment: Currently, the hospital has two CT scan machines and one MRI machine, which are not enough to handle the growing patient load. One CT machine is stationed in the casualty ward, while the other is located in the general ward.
- The hospital has requested additional CT scan and MRI machines from the authorities.
Efforts for Improvement:
- Dr. Eknath Pawar, the dean of BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital (BJMC & SGH), highlighted that the hospital has written to the Medical Education and Research Ministry seeking approval for more staff to support the hospital’s expanded facilities, particularly the new 11-storey building, which has added 500 beds to the hospital. He explained that the staffing issues are compounded by the new building’s operational demands, with additional staff required to reduce the burden on existing departments. Repeated reminders have been sent to the Ministry for approval of Class 1 and Class 4 staff.
Conclusion:
The Sassoon Hospital’s trauma care centre continues to operate under challenging conditions with inadequate staff and equipment. The hospital management has made multiple appeals for necessary resources, including additional diagnostic machines and personnel, to cope with the rising demand for trauma care and ensure timely medical intervention for critical patients.
