Trauma squads

Some lives in the Lahore procession attacks could have been saved had there been greater determination to do so.

The loss of life as a consequence of suicide bombings of the kind seen in Lahore on Wednesday is in part inevitable. But some lives could have been saved had there been greater determination to do so. According to a report in this paper, at the Mayo Hospital where most of the victims were brought, sufficient ventilators and suction machines were unavailable. It is unclear if any kind of effort was made to divert people to other hospitals or whether a strategy exists for this. We certainly need one given the number of blasts we see in our cities.

Worse still, we are told senior doctors did not turn up for some time, leaving matters in the hands of panic-stricken juniors. If true, this is unforgivable. The hospital has denied the charges. What is established is that given the scale of the dangers we face, we need more specialised trauma care. This has emerged as a specialised field in the world. Leading doctors in Peshawar have stated that more experts in this discipline are needed at major hospitals. Their skills could help save lives not only after bombings but other emergencies like road accidents which occur frequently.

Our health planners, at both the federal and provincial levels, need to devote some attention to this. It is true that in many cases it may be possible to save only a handful of lives. But these are worth fighting for. It is callous not to do everything possible to ensure this. We need to put in place a strategy that includes the setting up of specialised units at several hospitals to deal with the terrible aftermath of terrorist attacks, which, sadly, are unlikely to come to an end any time soon. The most realistic policy in such circumstances is to equip hospitals so that as many lives as possible can be saved.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2010.