Sachin Malik Lucknow: Under the leadership of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a major initiative is being undertaken to integrate and technology-enable healthcare services so that Patients involved in road accidents and other critical emergencies can receive timely treatment. As Part of this initiative, the UPTEN (Uttar Pradesh Trauma and Emergency Network) is being developed as an integrated emergency medical network aimed at ensuring that Patients reach the right treatment facility within the first 60 minutes after an accident or medical emergency- the “Golden Hour.”
Through UPTEN, the State Ecattered trauma, burn, cardiac, Stroke and other emergency services will be connected through a Single Network. Under the Plan, 173 integrated Trauma and Emergency Medicine Units will be developed. These will include 11 Level-1 Apex Hubs, 36 Level-2 Regional Centres and 126 Level-3 district-level Units. The objective is to ensure that Patients are rapidly transported to the nearest medical facility equipped to Provide the treatment they Require.
Target to Save 12,000 Lives Every Year
Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Ghosh said the System aims to save 10,000 to 12,000 lives every Year. Experts believe that timely treatment can reduce deaths and cases of Permanent disability resulting from serious accidents. Rather than Simply increasing the number of hospitals, the focus will be on connecting hospitals, ambulances, trauma centres, doctors, Paramedical Staff and command centres through a unified emergency Network.
He said the objective of UPTEN is to initiate the treatment Process as soon as an emergency is reported, instead of waiting for the Patient to reach a hospital. Under the Plan, 1,200 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances will be integrated into the network. These ambulances will not merely be used as means of transportation but will be developed as Mobile Emergency treatment Units.
In addition, 18 Divisional-level Command Centres will Play a crucial role in operating the network. These centres will facilitate coordination between emergency calls, ambulances, hospital beds and specialist medical Services.
Response Time to Be Reduced by 30 to 50 Percent
The Additional Chief Secretary, Health, said the Plan aims to reduce emergency response time by 30 to 50 Percent. At the same time, the system is designed to Gain approximately 10 additional minutes for Critical Medical decision-making before the Patient reaches the Hospital.
For this Purpose, the Proposed System will use real-time networking, digital alert Systems and AI-based triage Technologies. The objective is to determine Which Patient Should be sent to Which hospital or specialist department. In other words, the emergency System will operate on the Principle of “Right Patient, Right Department and Right Time.”
The Plan also Proposes making the General Public a Part of the emergency response System. A Three-tier First Responder Network is being Planned. At the first level, Police Personnel, ambulance drivers, fire-service Personnel and highway Patrol teams will Provide immediate assistance. The second level will include Police, Home Guards and other institutional responders. At the third level, ordinary citizens will be trained in basic emergency response so that they can Provide initial assistance when Required.
Free Emergency Treatment for 48 Hours
Under the Proposed Plan, free emergency treatment for up to 48 hours will be Provided to all citizens. The objective is to reduce the immediate financial burden of treatment on Patients and their families following an accident or Serious illness, ensuring that financial constraints do not delay medical Care.
The Government is also focusing on Providing a Separate Budget, Human-Resource Policy and availability of specialist Doctors for UPTEN. Other Proposed measures include the creation of an Emergency Medicine Officer (EMO) Cadre, Salary scales on the lines of AIIMS and incentives for specialist Doctors.
