Chennai: Developments in emergency care indicate a rise in medical attention received before death in private and government hospitals in the state from 31.7 per cent in 2008 to 38.7 per cent in 2013. According to a sample registration survey released by the Union ministry of home affairs in December 2014, while 31.1 per cent of the people receive medical attention in rural areas before they die, 51.5 per cent of people in urban areas approach hospitals during emergencies.

Deputy Superintendent of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), Dr S. Raghunandan said, “There is a phenomenal change in the emergency care management with the introduction of the 108 ambulance services. The ambulance reaches the spot and brings the patient within 5 to 10 minutes or sometimes within 25 minutes. The paramedical staff in the ambulance gives first aid during travel and chooses the hospital according to the severity of the illness. Earlier, it would take one to two hours for the patients to reach the hospital.”

“Facilities like blood bank, CT scan and operation theatre are located very close to the trauma ward and casualty at the RGGGH here to avoid delay and the operation is done within 30 minutes from the patient arriving,” he added.Good roads, better connectivity and spread of government hospitals in the interior areas also help in achieving emergency care, added health officials.

While government hospitals are planning to extend and expand their facilities, big corporate hospitals are trying another way in handle critically ill patients. Prof and HOD, Department of Cardiology, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Dr S. Elangovan said that his hospital was in the process of identifying small hospitals in the locality and entering into tie-ups. This would ensure that the small hospitals could refer very critical patients to this hospital for further treatment.

This will also reduce the time for the relatives of the patients in identifying a bigger hospital that can provide advanced treatment and also the transit time. Awareness among the public is also better these days and they approach qualified physicians and hospitals immediately when they sense that something wrong.