Kathmandu, October 17

National Trauma Centre in the capital city has been witnessing a sharp increase in the number of trauma patients, as 79,239 patients visited the health facility in 2018-19.

The data was revealed by the centre at a programme held to mark World Trauma Day, today, in a bid to spread awareness on various kinds of accidents The number of patients visiting the centre in 2015-16 was 28,323. As many as 43,848 trauma patients visited the centre in 2016-17, while 75,133 patients visited it in 2017-18.

Trauma in medical science has been defined as any kind of injury to the body due to sudden impact, such as accidents. Doctors at the trauma centre said among all kinds of accidents in the country, the highest number of accidents were caused due to fall, which accounted for 47 per cent of all kinds of accidents. It was followed by road accidents, which accounted for around 27 per cent of trauma cases. Other causes of trauma in the country were identified as drowning, burn and natural calamities.

A WHO report, however, showed road accident was the leading cause of death worldwide, followed by fall.

Metropolitan Traffic Police Division record showed as many as 254 persons were killed in road accidents in the valley in 2018-19, compared to 194, in the previous fiscal. At least 29,258 cases of road accidents were reported in between 2015-16 to 2017-18 in Kathmandu valley, out of which 497 people had lost their lives.

Around 33 per cent of the victims were pedestrians. At least 28 persons had lost their lives to road accidents in the past two months, from mid-July to mid-September.

Speaking at the programme, State Minister of Health and Population Surendra Kumar Yadav said the government was working to set up trauma centres in all seven provinces as per the spirit of the federal constitution. “These centres will be operated under the central Trauma Centre, while the existing centre will be upgraded to provide world-class services,” he said. He added that the government was also planning to operate health laboratories in all seven

provinces.