Road Crashes Kill 66 and Leave 104 Permanently Disabled in a Single Day as 24 Trauma Centers Lie Idle

❐ Staff Reporter

An average of 66 people die in road accidents every day in the country. This means that 24,233 people die every year. In addition to the deaths, an average of 104 people become permanently disabled every day in road accidents.

However, huge sums of money have been spent on building 24 trauma centers along the country’s important highways to save lives by providing rapid treatment to the injured.

But most of these centers are not effective due to shortages of doctors, nurses, necessary equipment, and manpower. As a result, the injured are not getting the opportunity to receive prompt treatment after accidents.

October 17th was World Trauma Day. The day is celebrated to highlight the need for lifesaving, emergency treatment, and rehabilitation for people affected by accidents and injuries.

However, questions have arisen about how well prepared the emergency medical system is in line with the reality of trauma-related deaths and disabilities in the country.

The ‘Bangladesh Health and Accident Survey 2022-23’ says that about 98,000 people die in the country every year due to accidents and injuries.

Road accidents, suicide, drowning and falls – these four causes kill an average of 211 people every day. Suicide is the second leading cause of death after road accidents; it kills 20,505 people annually.

18,268 people died from drowning, and 14,268 people lost their lives from falling.

The survey, published in 2024, was jointly conducted by the Noncommunicable Disease Control Program of the Directorate General of Health Services and the Center for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB).

To collect data, 439,700 members of 110,000 families in cities and villages across 64 districts of the country were interviewed.

According to health department sources, initiatives were taken to build 10 trauma centers in the 2004-05 fiscal year and 14 more in 2010. Various reports have also revealed that at least 140 crore taka was spent on building these infrastructures.

But most of the centers were out of operation for a long time due to a lack of necessary manpower and medical supplies.

National Orthopaedic Hospital and Rehabilitation Institute (Nitor) Director Professor Dr. Md. Abul Kenan said that since the trauma centers are not operational, people injured in accidents have to go to distant hospitals. This means that the very important ‘golden hour’ for treatment is passed. Many people lose their hands and feet and become permanently disabled because they do not receive timely treatment. In addition, the pressure of patients on the central hospitals in the capital is also increasing.

According to the survey, an average of 45,408 people are injured in accidents and injuries in the country every day. At the same time, an average of 380 people are permanently disabled. Of these, 159 people become permanently disabled every day due to falls and 104 people become permanently disabled due to road accidents.

Dr. Shariful Alam, Country Coordinator of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, said, “To increase the safety of pedestrians on the roads, emphasis should be placed on improving infrastructure and management. It is necessary to conduct regular road safety audits, identify risky places and make them safe, and ensure accountability of the relevant authorities.”

According to experts, in addition to accident prevention initiatives, it is important to recruit doctors and nurses to trauma centers, provide necessary equipment, arrange for emergency patient transfers, and develop integrated medical systems with major hospitals.