A&E considers calling in Army medics due to shortage of doctors
23-Jan-2012

A hospital in United Kingdom is considering calling in Army medics to staff their Accident & Emergency (A&E) Department after a critical shortage of doctors forced it to close at night.

Experts said there is a national shortage of middle grade A&E doctors due to the cut in hours under the European Working Time Directive, changes in immigration rules which has led to fewer overseas doctors and a reluctance of junior doctors to work in emergency medicine because of its demanding nature.

The Telegraph - A&E considers calling in Army medics due to shortage of doctors

.

Emergency Medical Care Courses in All Medical Colleges
11-Jan-2012

To improve services at the emergency wings (casualty) of Government Hospitals, courses in Emergency Medical Treatment (EMT) will be introduced in all medical colleges in the State.

The Hindu - Emergency Medical Care Courses in All Medical Colleges

.

Policy Change in Healthcare and Medical Institutions
08-Jan-2012

The Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, after recognition of post-graduate medical degrees of five English speaking countries (UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) for teaching as visiting faculty in India, India is now considering to facilitate overseas citizens of India with foreign medical qualifications to both practice and teach in India.

Times of India - Policy Change in Healthcare and Medical Institutions: Azad Good Article!




Thumbs up to our Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad! (See his earlier quote on PPP)





.

State of Government and Private Hospitals in India
18-Dec-2011
Editors Desk

Yesterday late afternoon, a young emergency physician we know, updated his facebook status,

PROUD TO BE AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN
Door to ECG 1 Min
Door to ANTIPLATLETS 2 Min
Door to STATIN 2 Min
Door to BALLOON INFLATION / Primary PTCA 37 Minutes ... in peripheral centre.
For a ACS patient with ACUTE EXTENSIVE ANTERIOR WALL MI ...
am proud be an Emergency physician, with the patient from ECG to BALLOON INFLATION, supported him, has seen pain in his face at first and thanking smile at the end ..vat else you want.

He worked at a small 6 bed emergency department of a private hospital in India. The good feeling that quality emergency care is finally here was, however, short lived. Times of India carried special reports today on the state of hospitals in India. Its worth a casual reading to get your bearings right before this year ends.

- EmergencyMedicine.in
______________________________

On December 9, a shortcircuit caused a fire in the basement of the super-specialty AMRI Hospital in Dhakuria, a suburb of Kolkata. A series of acts of omission and commission led to an indescribable tragedy - 93 people, 86 of them patients, died of suffocation...
Times of India - ON LIFE SUPPORT

In case you are unaware of this fire incident,
Kolkota - 89 killed in AMRI hospital fire, six board members arrested - NDTV
Kolkota hospital fire - What went wrong? - NDTV
______________________________

Experts say staff shortage is endemic in public hospitals. Corruption and apathy make matters worse. In contrast, private hospitals maintain a good doctor-patient ratio and a certain quality of treatment.
Times of India - Wait up to two years for a bed
______________________________

Sighting a doctor is rarer still, say villagers. Forget emergency services, they are hardly able to run the OPD regularly.
Times of India - No pills, no doc & no pharmacist
______________________________

Forget about sophisticated equipment, my department does not even have a basic nasal endoscope . We function under such primitive conditions in an age where medical science has advanced so much. It is frustrating but we are helpless.
Times of India - Need X-ray? It will take months
______________________________

But here was this man who thought waiting for another vehicle was better than taking his father to a government hospital.
Times of India - Hospital out of anesthesia, surgeries on hold
______________________________


.

Davids Textbook of Emergency Medicine Released at EMCON 2011
27-Nov-2011
Editors Desk
In June 2009, EmergencyMedicine.in publicized that work was underway for a comprehensive textbook in emergency medicine which will focus on EM from the Indian perspective. (Click here to read previous article)

This completed text was finally released at the 13th National Conference of Emergency Medicine (EMCON 2011) hosted by the Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMI) at Kolkata, India, last week.

Davids Textbook of Emergency Medicine comprises of 2380 pages spread over two volumes. With 291 authors contributing to its 262 chapters, this is the largest comprehensive textbook of emergency medicine in the world.

The Chief Editor, Dr. Suresh David, Professor & Head of Dept of Accident & Emergency Medicine, Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, India, is the senior most emergency physician in India with more than 18 years of EM experience and one of the pioneers for the development of emergency medicine in India. He is an honorary recipient of the Fellowship of Australian College of Emergency Medicine (FACEM) in 2006.

Dr. David said, Most of our emergency medicine textbooks come from the USA. From an EM academic standpoint the world is divided into the West and the East. We are currently modifying and adapting from the West. So we created a book predominantly for the Eastern hemisphere. This book is a One-Stop-Shop for EM students, EMS personnel, EM postgraduates and ED administrators. He also said that the literature came from authors who were experts in their field. For example, the chapter on Diving Medicine was written by David Greene who is an Ex-Navy SEAL. The chapters on Frostbite and High Altitude Illness were written by Ken Zafren who has experience from Alaska and Himalayas.

Dr. Judith Tintinalli, in the foreword, mentioned that this textbook matches practices to the resources and cultures of the region, and makes clear that EM is a tangible specialty in India and South-East Asia.

We went through this textbook and found that 42% of the authors were from India. Singapore contributed 13% and USA 14%. Australia and UK contributed 8% and 6% respectively. The rest of the authors were from China, South Africa, Nepal, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, France, Italy, Oman, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Canada, Sweden and Germany.

Reading the textbook definitely gave a very local feel, due to its content which was relevant to developing nations. We highly recommend this to all the emergency departments in India and other countries.

Davids Textbook of Emergency Medicine is due to become widely available in all major bookstores by next month. For the benefit of our Indian readers, this textbook is available through a distributor - Medicare Books House, Kolkata (+91-33-22656594, 22265435). Cost is 7000/- INR (Approx 140 USD)

- EmergencyMedicine.in

Disclaimer - The administrator of EmergencyMedicine.in is one of the authors for the textbook.


_________________________________________________________

Update July 2012 ! - Textbook now available in online stores

Click here to buy this book from Amazon





Click here to buy this book from Amazon.co.uk





Click here to buy this book from Infibeam




_________________________________________________________



Copyright ©2011 EmergencyMedicine.in All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the administrator.
.