1.2 million die annually in road accidents worldwide
SKIMS observes World Head Injury Awareness day
Srinagar 20, 2018: The Surgical Emergency Wing and the Department of Neurosurgery SKIMS observed World Head Injury Awareness day here today on 20th March, 2018. The department organized poster show to raise awareness to reduce accidents and brain injuries.
The World Head Injury awareness day falls on March 20 every year and it looks at the number of people who suffer from a mild bump on their head to severe brain injury.
Dr. Abdul Rashid Bhat, Professor of Neurosurgery and Head of Surgical Emergency Wing Surgery said that the most updated World data reads that road traffic accidents cause injury to about 50 million of which 1.2 million people die annually. It also reveals the annual cost of treatment for road traffic accidents as 230 billion dollars. He stressed on prevention and better management of traffic and communication and said this can be achieved by framing long and short term policies and rules, many of which might be already in place of action but some need to be given a consideration, for example; standard road policies in laying new and better roads, strict application of traffic rules, fixation of age of the licenser and speed limit rules.
He further said if head injury awareness due to traffic accidents is included in school academic curriculum; it will go in a long way in decreasing such incidents.
Director SKIMS/EOSG, Dr. Omar Javed Shah said that SKIMS receives as many as 50 road & traffic accident patients per day in peak summers mostly with Head Injuries. Out of which 30-40 are discharged, 10 are admitted for Surgical and Conservative treatment and the most critical ones remain on life support system which affect families and society at large both economically and psychologically. He hoped such awareness will lead to prevention and thus will help in reducing the number of such patients.
