<p>Ashwathnarayan, 64, was knocked down by a vehicle recently on Bilekahalli main road. He suffered a head injury and was rushed to a private clinic and administered first aid. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The clinic staff later called an autorickshaw, instead of an ambulance, and shifted him to a hospital. Fortunately, Ashwathnarayan’s son Srikanth had called him up around the time of the accident and learnt about what had happened to his father.<br /><br />“My father was bleeding profusely from his head when I arrived at the accident spot; the private clinic staff had just tied some loose bandages on his head and had not bothered to call an ambulance. My father later underwent a surgery at Nimhans and is recuperating now,” recalls Srikanth.<br /><br />This is just one of the thousands of road traffic accidents (RTA) that occur in Bangalore City every day. Although the introduction of EMRI 108 (Emergency Management and Research Institute) ambulances by the State Government in 2008 has eased the situation a bit, experts say it is always the onlookers who play a key role during the ‘golden hour’ in the survival of a victim before an ambulance arrives.<br /><br />S S Perveez from EMRI 108 says that earlier the public would remain mute spectators to any accident victim lying on the road as they feared legal repercussions if they are called to be eyewitnesses. “The public basically did not want to get into any medico-legal cases earlier. But times have changed now.<br /><br /> With the introduction of EMRI, the police have eased conditions on helping accident victims. EMRI 108 ambulance has integrated their services with the police department and hospital, and the ambulance staff document all activities and share details when required. The public have to just call 108 the moment they witness an accident; the number can be called from a mobile phone even if it does not have currency,” he added.<br /> <br />Despite measures taken to make ambulance reach the accident spot at the shortest time, the awareness level among the public to help accident victims is still low. B N Sridhar, COO, EMRI 108, says Bangalore lags behind Hyderabad and Ahmedabad in terms of the average time taken by an ambulance vehicle to reach the accident spot and shifting a victim to hospital, “Bangalore traffic is a major hurdle in catering to RTA cases.<br /><br /> We are in the process of increasing the number of ambulances, shortly,” he added.<br />It is not just reaching the spot on time that matters. Shifting a patient carefully is also very critical, says Dr A N Venkatesh, senior consultant and HoD, emergency medicine, Apollo Hospital. <br /><br />“An accident victim with a cervical spine injury should be shifted carefully, as there are chances that more damage could be done while transporting him. It is always advisable to call an ambulance and not shift the patient in an autorickshaw or any other vehicle,” he added.<br /></p>
<p>Ashwathnarayan, 64, was knocked down by a vehicle recently on Bilekahalli main road. He suffered a head injury and was rushed to a private clinic and administered first aid. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The clinic staff later called an autorickshaw, instead of an ambulance, and shifted him to a hospital. Fortunately, Ashwathnarayan’s son Srikanth had called him up around the time of the accident and learnt about what had happened to his father.<br /><br />“My father was bleeding profusely from his head when I arrived at the accident spot; the private clinic staff had just tied some loose bandages on his head and had not bothered to call an ambulance. My father later underwent a surgery at Nimhans and is recuperating now,” recalls Srikanth.<br /><br />This is just one of the thousands of road traffic accidents (RTA) that occur in Bangalore City every day. Although the introduction of EMRI 108 (Emergency Management and Research Institute) ambulances by the State Government in 2008 has eased the situation a bit, experts say it is always the onlookers who play a key role during the ‘golden hour’ in the survival of a victim before an ambulance arrives.<br /><br />S S Perveez from EMRI 108 says that earlier the public would remain mute spectators to any accident victim lying on the road as they feared legal repercussions if they are called to be eyewitnesses. “The public basically did not want to get into any medico-legal cases earlier. But times have changed now.<br /><br /> With the introduction of EMRI, the police have eased conditions on helping accident victims. EMRI 108 ambulance has integrated their services with the police department and hospital, and the ambulance staff document all activities and share details when required. The public have to just call 108 the moment they witness an accident; the number can be called from a mobile phone even if it does not have currency,” he added.<br /> <br />Despite measures taken to make ambulance reach the accident spot at the shortest time, the awareness level among the public to help accident victims is still low. B N Sridhar, COO, EMRI 108, says Bangalore lags behind Hyderabad and Ahmedabad in terms of the average time taken by an ambulance vehicle to reach the accident spot and shifting a victim to hospital, “Bangalore traffic is a major hurdle in catering to RTA cases.<br /><br /> We are in the process of increasing the number of ambulances, shortly,” he added.<br />It is not just reaching the spot on time that matters. Shifting a patient carefully is also very critical, says Dr A N Venkatesh, senior consultant and HoD, emergency medicine, Apollo Hospital. <br /><br />“An accident victim with a cervical spine injury should be shifted carefully, as there are chances that more damage could be done while transporting him. It is always advisable to call an ambulance and not shift the patient in an autorickshaw or any other vehicle,” he added.<br /></p>
