Punjab Govt to offer free treatment to road accident victims during first 48 hours

Chandigarh, September 5, 2023: With an aim to make maximum use of the ‘Golden Hour’ to save precious lives of road accident victims, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led the Punjab Government has decided to provide free treatment to all road accident victims within the first 48 hours of the mishap as part of the Farishtey scheme, said Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh here on Tuesday. Golden hour is the first crucial hour after a road accident, during which time if a seriously injured person is given critical care, their chances of survival increase highly.

          “Irrespective of domicile of the person, Punjab Government will treat all the road accident victims as one and will ensure free treatment at nearby hospitals including private hospitals during the first 48 hours of the accident,” he said, while adding that the treatment expenses incurred on the treatment in first 48 hours will be reimbursed by the government.

          Dr Balbir Singh was addressing the inauguration session of two-day Workshop and Training on Road Safety organised by Lead Agency on Road Safety at MGSIPA here. He was accompanied by Director General of Lead Agency on Road Safety R Venkat Ratnam, ADGP Traffic Amardeep Singh Rai and State Transport Commissioner Moneesh Kumar.

          Divulging more details about the forthcoming flagship Farishtey Scheme, which is at the final stage, the Health Minister said that anyone taking the road accident victim to the hospital for treatment will be honoured and rewarded with Rs 2000. There will be no questioning by police or hospital authorities from the person, who brought the road accident victim to the hospital, until and unless he himself wants to become an eye witness.

          He said that the Punjab Government has also been establishing a system wherein all the ambulances including government and private will be linked together like OLA/Uber, so that people in an emergency can avail services of Ambulance in as little time as 15 minutes. “We are also identifying government hospitals situated at the state highways to establish and activate the robust Critical Care Units so that people can avail World-Class Treatment at Government Health Facilities,” he added.

          The Health Minister also exhorted people to ‘Give Way to Ambulance’ and always keep ‘First Aid Kit’ in their vehicles, as this small initiative could save your or someone’s life.

          Director General of Lead Agency R Venkat Ratnam in his welcome address stressed the need for safe and forgiving roads, road-worthy vehicles and properly trained drivers on roads in the state because these are prerequisites for any road safety. He also stressed the need to develop a mechanism which can provide prompt emergency care to all accident victims.

          He said that the Punjab State Road Safety Council will tie up with PGI to give training to trauma care doctors and para-medical staff.

          ADGP Amardeep Singh Rai said that Punjab is all set to become the first state in the country to introduce the ‘Sadak Surakhya Force— a special team dedicated towards road safety’ under which new hi-tech vehicles will be provided and a separate uniform has been designed for Police Personnel. “We really hope that this big initiative by the state government will help to save precious lives,” he said.

          Meanwhile, State Transport Commissioner Moneesh Kumar exhorted the people attending the workshop to become master trainers and disseminate among the general public what they have learned at this two-day workshop.