India registers nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases annually. And of them, 1.4 lakh succumb to their injuries. The high incidence and casualty rate has now finally caught the Government’s attention.
A Rs430-crore-blueprint has been made envisaging setting up of burn units having hi-tech facilities with specialised doctors to treat and manage the burn cases in 67 hospitals across the States in the next five years.
A senior Health Ministry official said that the proposal, which was cleared by the Empowered Finance Committee (EFC) last month, will be soon forwarded to the Union Cabinet for its approval.
The aim is to ensure that burn care is provided as close to the site of accident as possible and patients need not to travel to big cities for burn care.
“Amongst all traumas, burn cases have highest duration of hospital bed occupancy while cost of hospitalised burn injury cases management is extremely high which may cost enormous financial burden to the country. “
“Moreover, the rehabilitation of the individual remains a challenging and daunting task,” said an official on the emergent need to prevent the menace. Kids and women remain vulnerable with four out of five burnt cases involving them.
“Burns are the 11th leading cause of death of children aged between one and nine years and are also the fifth most common cause of non-fatal childhood injuries,” as per the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Under the Ministry’s proposal, around 67 hospitals across the States would be equipped and trained to effectively treat burn cases and put in place treatment wards at the earliest, the official said.
The plan, which would be later rolled out in all the medical colleges and districts hospitals, would essentially have three components i.e. Preventive programme, Burn injury management programme and Burn injury rehabilitation programme. Each district will be provided with an advanced life support system in ambulance with an aim to create a burn support system for the villages.