More doctors to attend to burns patients

NEW DELHI: With Diwali round the corner, doctors at Safdarjung Hospital are preparing themselves to deal with the rush of burns cases expected during this time of the year. Besides increasing the number of on-duty doctors to handle the flow of patients, the hospital has also created a WhatsApp group to ensure better coordination among the medicos from the burns unit.
Meanwhile, the Delhi administration on Tuesday directed the state-run hospitals to arrange for more ventilators, medicines, cotton, dressing materials, bandages and other essentials so that they don't face any shortage of resources to treat burns patients on Diwali day. Safdarjung Hospital, Asia's biggest centre for treatment of burns cases, says it gets close to 500 patients suffering from minor and severe injuries during the festival.
Despite regulations and anti-firecracker campaigns, the number of such cases is on the rise, say doctors. "We have earmarked 20-25 beds for Diwali-related cases. The number of on-duty doctors has been doubled to deal with the rush of patients expected over the next three days," said Dr Rajpal, medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital. He added that for the first time they have also created a whatsapp group for doctors from the burn unit for better coordination.
Rajpal said even the senior doctors had been asked to remain alert because they could be called anytime if an emergency situation arises. Burns specialists stressed the need for implementation of laws such as a ban on bursting of sound-emitting firecrackers between 10 pm and 6 am "with an iron hand".
"Injuries in hands and face are common. People often try to burst crackers in the hand. Some even try to reignite the crackers that have misfired, leading to accidents. One needs to be careful with firecrackers and may even avoid it," one of the doctors said.
"People should keep at least two buckets of water handy while playing with crackers as a safety measure. In case of burns, victim should be removed from the area and water poured over the burnt area," said Dr Rajeev B Ahuja, consultant and head, burns and plastic surgery department at Lok Nayak Hospital. Ahuja has been appointed nodal officer for burn management.
He said burnt phooljharies should be thrown in a bucket filled with water or sand so that children do not suffer injuries in case they came in contact with them. Ahuja said in case of burns in eyes, they should be washed thoroughly with tap water and the victim should be taken to a specialist.