Kolkata: The state health department will audit each road traffic accident death with the aim of devising a larger plan to save the lives of accident victims. All hospital heads and CMOH of all districts have been instructed to audit each accident death as and when it is reported. Health officials said the complete audit report for the week must reach Swasthya Bhawan every Monday.
Health officials stated that the audit report will include particulars such as the nature of the accident, the time it took for the victim to reach the hospital from the accident site and details of the treatment.
"The whole idea is to analyse the audit data and take multi-pronged steps to decrease the number of accidents and save more lives by devising counter measures both in infrastructure and treatment protocol," said a senior health official.
Sources in the state health department mentioned that once the audit reports come in from various govt health facilities, they will be scrutinised and analysed by the officials at Swasthya Bhawan. The nature of the accidents will help them understand if they were caused due to bad road conditions or rash driving and then formalise combat measures in coordination with the relevant departments. On the other hand, the treatment record will help them analyse if enough medical care was given and, if not, prepare a layout to improve medical care for the hospitals.
"During the audit, we will also see how long the accident victim took to reach the hospital, as getting care within the golden hour is crucial in saving a life. Accordingly, an SOP may be planned for starting a green corridor for ferrying accident victims," said the official.
According to the latest data, the state records around 17,000 accidents yearly and around 6,000 deaths across the state. In Kolkata, 159 people died in road accidents last year, and the figure has reached around 170 this year. This latest move from the health department comes a month after it asked district health officials and teaching medical colleges to appoint nodal officers for entering details of all accident victims on a centralised portal.
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