The Karnataka health department officials feel that the proposed central funding of Rs.1.36 crores for its Accident Surgical Emergency Services (ASES) in 44 trauma centres located in 27 districts in the state will be totally inadequate.

The trauma centres need equipments that cost a minimum of Rs.1 crore to handle certain serious cases that have only minor head injuries. It is impossible to run the 44 trauma centres with such a meagre sum, expressed the officials.

Sources from the state government informed that only one trauma centre in Chitradurga has been short-listed to refer the serious accident cases to Bangalore's Sanjay Gandhi Accident Hospital and Research Institute (SGAHRI) which has been selected for funding under the pilot project of State Hospitals located on National Highways.

The centre's assistance of Rs.1.36 crore is for capacity building to upgrade and strengthen its ASES and also to make the SGAHRI a regional centre for mass disaster to offer its services as a tertiary referral hospital for the 44 trauma centres located in the state.

Under the World Bank grant of Rs.652 crore, each trauma centre is set up at a cost of Rs.24, 000. The provision of telemedicine is made available, but all the centres are yet to get the computers to be networked. Currently, the trauma centre has the basic infrastructure to handle accident cases with its operation theatre, blood bank and inpatient emergency wards. It has been extremely difficult to set-apart funds for having modern neurosurgical equipment or even a ventilator that costs Rs.1 crore, stated the sources.

Another point brought out by the sources is that the grant of Rs.1.36 crore itself will be utilised by the SGAHRI as it needs to equip itself with two ambulances where its maintenances, contingencies control room and communication will require funds of Rs.21 lakh. The amount allocated for construction and maintenance is Rs.63 lakh. To purchase equipment like operation tables, surgical equipments cystoscope, ventilator, ECG monitors for the intensive care units, x-ray machines, ultrasound scan and operating microscope is around Rs.53 lakh.

The central government should increase the grant, as it will not be viable for the 44 trauma centres, which are located 8 km away from the major hospitals in each district to transport the accident victims during an emergency. In fact, the fund for even the trauma centre located in Chitradurga selected under the ASES is inadequate, they stated.