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NIMHANS launches lay responder care  to help road accident victims

NIMHANS launches lay responder care to help road accident victims

Deccan Herald 6 days ago

Bengaluru: In an attempt to strengthen the capacity of youth to provide lay responder care for accident victims in Bengaluru, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) rolled out a lay responder care module along with a dedicated website and volunteer identity card.

According to the data presented at the launch, an estimated 23 to 25 deaths occur every hour due to road accidents. A critical gap persists in the early response system, with nearly 30 to 50% of victims dying before reaching a hospital and less than one-fourth receiving timely first aid.

Speaking at the event, Parashurama K, Deputy Inspector General of Police and Commissioner, Traffic and Road Safety, Government of Karnataka, emphasized the importance of transforming youth into responsible road users. "Proactive Good Samaritans, trained as lay responders, can play a crucial role before professional medical care arrives. All frontline police personnel and persons working in toll booths should be trained as well," said Parushurama K.

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Explaining the module, Dr Gautham M Sukumar, Professor and Head of WHO CC for Injury Prevention, NIMHANS, said that the module is a structured, simulation-based training module aimed at equipping individuals with essential life-saving skills such as scene safety, rapid assessment, hands-only CPR, bleeding control, and basic fracture management.

"The programme has already trained over 900 individuals, including around 110 police personnel, and received strong acceptance across institutions. The pilot implementation demonstrated high feasibility, paving the way for future scale-up across districts and integration into institutional training systems," he further said.

Dr Prabha S Chandra, Director of NIMHANS, noted that institute manages approximately 10,000 to 13,000 traumatic brain injury cases annually with over 70-90% attributed to road traffic incidents, thus reinforcing the importance of both prevention and effective post-crash care systems.

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