Emergency medicine and air rescue in India: future perspectives

Abstract

76.7% of Indian population lives in rural areas. About 160,000 primary health care centres and subcentres, established all over the country, are responsible for the emergency care in the countryside. A centre, manned by a qualified doctor, a nurse/midwife and paramedics, with basic equipment and facilities has to manage all types of medical emergencies in a population of 3000 - 5000. A patient who survives this emergency care has to be transferred to higher secondary / tertiary centre. In metropolitan areas there are larger hospitals some of them having well equipped casualty departments supervised by specialists, but the number of patients are so large that the management of emergency goes often haywire. Patient transport system is very inadequate. The ambulances are scarce and mostly not well equipped. Air rescue which is the most desired, because of the distances and road conditions, is only in a rudimentary state. Existing infrastructure more than 400 airports, airstrips and many helipads, well qualified flying personnel and well maintained small and large aircrafts is sufficient to have a well functioning Air Rescue system. But it is prohibitively expensive. Most individuals are neither able to afford Air Rescue on their own cost nor they are insured. With the growth of economy and ever increasing awareness of medical facilities, the demand of better standards of emergency medicine is going up. In next 20 years a different scenario is expected. Availability of information technology, privatization of insurance system and medical facilities and better transport system and roads in the coming years will facilitate a well functioning emergency medicine and air rescue in India.