Ranking 7th in accident deaths in India, Bihar lacks superspecialty, PG courses in trauma surgery

BIHAR REPORTED A 16% RISE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENT DEATHS FROM 7,600 REPORTED IN 2021 TO 8,898 IN 2022, WITH NEARLY 82% REPORTED ACCIDENTS TURNING INTO DEATHS

- Ruchir Kumar

PATNA: The first batch of five medicos who complete their superspecialisation (MCh degree) in trauma surgery and critical care in July from Patna's All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will not have an option to work as a teaching faculty in the field of their specialisation in the public sector, as barring AIIMS, none of Bihar's 21 medical colleges, including 13 under the government sector, have either a postgraduation (PG) or super-specialty course in trauma surgery, said doctors familiar with the matter.

The near-total absence of specialists in state having post-graduation or superspecialisation degrees in trauma surgery and critical care looks scary, especially given that Bihar ranks seventh in terms of road accidents deaths in India. It reported a 16% rise in the number of accident deaths from 7,600 reported in 2021 to 8,898 in 2022, with nearly 82% reported accidents turning into deaths, as per government data of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), said experts.

The state ranks 16th in terms of number of accidents reported in a year, with the number rising from 7,016 in 2020 to 7,946 in 2021 and then declining to 7,068 in 2022.

Shocking against this backdrop is the fact that barring AIIMS and Medanta hospital, both in Patna, none of the other medical college hospitals in the state have a dedicated trauma and emergency unit, having doctors with postgraduate or superspecialty degree in trauma surgery, for management of accident or trauma cases.

On paper, however, Bihar has 47 functional trauma centres out of the designated 57 along national and state highways, said officials.