‘800,000 suffer head injuries every year in Pakistan’

Health expert says first 60 minutes are critical in saving injured

LAHORE:

Every year as many as 800,000 people in Pakistan suffer from head injuries in traffic and other accidents out of which about 60,000 to 70,000 patients suffer serious injuries.

Moreover, in the field of neurosurgery to save precious lives, the first 60 minutes are called "Golden Hour" in which the patient can get better results through timely and accurate first aid.

This was stated by Chairman Board of Management Punjab Institute of Neurosciences and renowned Neuro Surgeon Dr Anjum Habib Vohra in an exclusive talk with the media representatives.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a sudden injury that causes damage to the brain. It may happen when there is a blow, bump, or jolt to the head. This is a closed head injury. A TBI can also happen when an object penetrates the skull.

He added that the chances of saving lives in accidents are increasing in the modern world and for this purpose, the launch of air ambulance in the province is the most important need of the hour to reduce the waste of time in transporting the injured ones to the hospitals by road due to heavy traffic on the highways.

Prof Vohra said that in all modern countries of the world, the use of air ambulance service for timely rescue and transport of injured persons in traffic or other accidents to hospitals has become common practice and no other tool is more effective than this to save human life.

Prof Anjum Vohra, referring to traffic accidents, said that the competent authority should ensure transparency in the issuance of driving licenses so that motorbike and vehicle drivers are not only well aware of traffic rules but also traffic sense.

He regretted that many lives depend on the shoulders of the person driving the public transport and the slightest negligence of the driver becomes a great danger to many precious lives. He said that it has been observed that if motorcyclists use helmets then beds in the Neurosurgery wards can be emptied and the lives of many, especially young people, can be saved as well.

BoM PINS Chairman and renowned Neuro Surgeon Prof Anjum Habib further said that Shahbaz Sharif has set up a state-of-the-art neuro institute in the provincial metropolis which is benefiting patients from all over the country.

Appreciating the performance of the PINS, he said that it is a unique Institution where state-of-the-art neurosurgery facilities are available 24 hours a day while doctors and nurses are on constant alert to serve the patients and save their lives. He said that surgery operation theaters are round-the-clock functional where there is no such thing as a holiday.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2022.