India is among the world’s fastest growing economies and someday, we might be world leaders in economic prosperity, education and health. However, as of now, we are world leaders on a not-so-flattering front - accidental and emergency deaths.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Road Accidents in India has come out with its annual report for 2016 and the statistics paint a grim picture. Out of 4.8 lakh road accidents in 2016, 1.5 lakh were fatal. If we add fatalities caused by medical emergencies, such as heart disease and stroke, the number zooms past 25 lakh. According to healthdata.org, ischemic heart disease was the number one killer of Indians in 2016 and the number of fatalities and negative incidents has registered a 53% jump from 2005.
Imagine losing a loved one to a road accident or a medical emergency because he didn’t receive timely medical aid or still worse – there was no emergency response mechanism in place at all. Unfortunately, emergency management is never taken seriously in our country which leaves most of our citizens helpless in any accident or medical emergency. In many cases, basic first aid can keep victims alive till proper medical aid reaches them. Dr Kishalay Datta of Max Healthcare says, “As an emergency department veteran doctor, I see accident victims coming in every day. It saddens me to see that most road accident victims die because they do not get timely first aid.” In a bid to put an end to such deaths, Dr Datta has mobilised a petition to The Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways, Delhi Transport Department and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare demanding that First Aid Training be mandatory for all driving license applicants.
Sign the petition: Make First Aid Training mandatory for all driving license applicants. #EveryMinuteMatters
Nearly 70,000 road deaths in India can be prevented if victims receive timely medical aid from bystanders. Last year, nearly 37% of the total accidents took place on traffic junctions and a majority of them happened on uncontrolled junctions. This only underscores the importance of bystanders in case of an accident.
What also inspired Dr Datta to start this petition are the life stories of Traffic Queen and Traffic Baba, two unsung heroes who worked in their own capacity to make Indian roads safer. Dorris Francis earned the moniker Traffic Queen after she found her life’s mission in a personal tragedy. A road accident in 2008 left her daughter with severely damaged lungs and the girl died after months of suffering. Ever since, Francis used to station herself at a crossing close to where the accident had taken place and manage traffic for four hours in the morning. She did this until she herself was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Max Healthcare Emergency Teams’ commitment to reducing road deaths doesn’t stop at the petition. They’ve also launched a service called Max Bike Responder to make sure professional help reaches emergency patients in the fastest possible time. The person driving the bike is a professional paramedic and can easily reach the location of the emergency atleast 20-30 minutes before a conventional four-wheeler ambulance.
It is only by way of such multi-pronged efforts can we ensure that no person bleeds to death because an ambulance couldn’t make it on time. All you have to do now is sign this petition to make Indian roads safer than before. Remember, when it comes to responding to an emergency, #EveryMinuteMatters.
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