As the death toll due to lightning in the state increases, concern of the healthcare authorities to stay well-equipped and prepared enough to deal with the calamity has also increased simultaneously.
Dr Sumant Mishra, Director in Chief, Health Services said that most of the patients affected from the lightning strikes are admitted to Rajendra institute of Medical Science (RIMS) and Sadar Hospital, Ranchi.
The medical superintendent of RIMS, Dr. SK Chaudhary said that all the lightning struck patients are treated under the burn ward and are provided with the same basic treatment that is given to the burn patients.
According to the RIMS officials, most of the people that come here belong to the rural areas of the state and the patients are treated in the burn ward in the same manner as the patients suffering from burn injuries. The patients go through electrocardiogram (ECG), primary care and later the electrolytes balance is monitored as the electrolyte imbalance that occurs after burns can create cardiac instability.
The burn ward of RIMS notified that the patients are provided free treatment along with proper nursing and medications throughout the treatment. When the burn percentage of patients remains around 40 per cent to 50 per cent, the chances of survival are more intact.
“The lightning struck patients mostly suffer from electric shock and burns, most of the hospitals around the city provide free treatment to them. The hospitals are completely equipped with facilities such as cardiac monitoring, first aid and burn treatment. The affected people are requested to rush to the nearby hospitals for immediate attention from the medical staff,” said Dr. Sumant Mishra, Director in Chief, Health Services, Jharkhand.
“As far as the prevention part is concerned, an advisory is formed by the Disaster Management Department which is responsible for spreading awareness around the state by collaborating with various media. The Disaster Management Department is also in charge of making the people of rural areas aware of the first aid treatment that they must provide the patient before they reach any hospital,” added Dr Mishra when asked about the preventive measures to be kept in mind while dealing with lightning struck patients.
Disaster Management expert Colonel (Retd) SK Srivastava said that deaths due to lightning had steadily increased over the past one year at an alarming rate. He asserted that the absence of a strong & organized disaster management system in the State and the decreasing number of manpower with the department is taking a huge toll every year as several deaths occur due to thunderstorm and lightning.
“For spreading awareness across the state use of television, radio and other media sources are used which helped in successful decrease of death rates in the previous year but this year the rate has drastically increased due to lack of resources and a very casual approach from the government,” said Srivastava.