Mangaluru: KMC Hospitals revamped its emergency medical department to offer world class treatments to the people of Mangaluru owing to the rapid expansion of the city, increasing population and foreseeing the need to provide quicker and better services. Off late, the hospital has also been witnessing an increasing number of road accident cases in the age group of 18-40yrs which is mainly due to negligence and carelessness.

Emergency medicine is the medical specialty involving care for undifferentiated and unscheduled patients with illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. The Emergency Medicine department (EM) will now be under the able supervision of Dr. Jeedhu Radhakrishnan who has recently joined the hospital as a specialist in Department of Emergency Medicine. He has hands on experience and specialization in toxicology, trauma and disaster management.

The department is now equipped with state of the art technology and well-trained and skilled medical staff to handle any eventualities. Additionally, the hospital has a fleet of hi tech 24/7 Ambulances MARS which is equipped with all the facilities required for a pre hospital care while the patient is being transported to the Hospital. Highly skilled and specialized staff to handle all kinds of emergencies. The hospital has standard protocol for neuro, gastro and heart emergencies. Additionally, they have stat laboratory for immediate blood tests and results. The nurses and paramedical staff are trained in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) to assist in any kind of surgical and medical emergencies.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jeedhu Radhakrishnan, Specialist, Emergency Medicine, KMC Hospitals said, “Medical emergencies are time sensitive, because the longer the time that elapses before recognition and treatment, the greater the likelihood of morbidity, mortality or disability. The emergency medicine department will work round the clock to cater to the demands and has several offerings lined up for its patients. It has dedicated 24/7 emergency and trauma care, a competent acute stroke management team, 15 beds in the emergency room, emergency radiology services, emergency OT and ICU services. The good news is that patients need not waste more than 3 minutes in waiting and they will immediately be attended.”

The department also follows the best practices of Triage protocols. Triage is necessary to identify those who need immediate care and those who may deteriorate to prioritize care for the remaining patients and to distribute finite resources in the best way. Pre-established triage guidelines or algorithms help identify those most in need of immediate care and can minimize morbidity.

Speaking on the occasion, Sagir Siddiqui, Unit Head, KMC Hospitals said, “We are happy to equip our department with the best of technology and doctors to take care of eventualities, as emergency can happen to anyone and this leads to anxiety and panic. The core concepts and strategies of EM care require focused medical decision making and action with the goal of preventing needless death or disability from time-sensitive disease processes (i.e. conditions that must be treated within a certain time period to prevent or minimize mortality or morbidity). EM care has the following components: accessing care, care in the community, care during transportation, and care on arrival at a receiving facility.”

KMC Mangaluru along with the United Nations recently organised and participated in the Road Safety Week with the theme of Save Lives#Slowdown. An interactive session with the Tilak Chandra, assistant commissioner of police, traffic division, was also arranged to discuss safe usage of roads. MBBS students also performed a street play in Kadri Park which received a huge response from the general public. The students also requested the public to pledge to slow down at the conclusion of the street play.