Rashid Hospital sees 15 accident deaths a month

Rashid Hospital's Trauma Centre receives around 50 to 60 emergency cases from traffic accidents every month, out of which 15 die. The Trauma Centre is especially dedicated for emergency cases and receives around 250 cases of various kinds every month, Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm reported. According to a senior official from the Trauma Centre, most of the death cases come from road accidents caused by over-speeding and lack of attention. He also informed that most of the victims are young people, between the ages of 20 and 45. The Official estimated the annual cost of treating such cases at around Dh30 million, borne by Dubai Health Authority, which runs the Trauma Cenre. “Of the 50 to 60 cases we receive per month, some of them are brought dead while others brought badly injured and need urgent medical intervention. We try to save as many lives as possible, but unfortunately we can’t save all,” said a medical officer from the centre on conditions of anonymity. He pointed out that 60 per cent of the injured received by the centre need urgent surgery to save their lives. He also highlighted that most of the dead from accidents are either children or young people, who fall victims of not adhering to traffic and safety rules. “Several cases of injuries lead to back and spine damage, which leaves a person permanently paraplegic, who lose the ability to move their lower part of the body, and other injuries are quadriplegic, which deprives the patient of the ability to move their limbs,” the medical office informed. Urging the motorists to use seat belts when travelling , he noted that in cases where victims had fastened seat belts during accidents, the injuries are seen to be less serious. The centre treats all emergency cases free of cost, spending Dh60,000 on an average per patient, with the monthly cost reaching up to Dh2.5 million. The cost of treatment of each person is represented by ambulance, use of medical instruments, pharmaceutical products, and urgent surgery to save life. Terming the annual emergency expenditure as well as the number of casualties and damages as a loss to the nation, the officer urged motorists to drive safe and avoid accidents. Rashid Hospital recorded 325 deaths in 2009 resulting from traffic accidents, coming down from 353 deaths in 2008, while 147 accident casualties were reported in 2007.