KING EDWARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

STATE OF THE ART EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AT KEM HOSPITAL

On October 5, 2000, a new state-of-the-art Emergency Medical Services area was commissioned in the hospital.

Housed on the ground floor of the main hospital building, it is located where the old casualty, medical and surgical OPDs, minor surgery and Wards 20 and 20A were located. This approximately 15,000 square ft area, houses all emergency facilities. There are separate medical (adult and pediatric) and surgical (surgery and orthopedics) areas to cater to all emergencies.

Each area is provided with all necessary monitoring and life support systems. The five fully equipped operating rooms are capable of handling all types of emergency surgeries including urologic, and vascular or thoracic surgery.

Fully functional biochemistry, pathology and microbiology laboratory facilities are housed within this area itself. Plain radiography and ultrasonography are also available within this area. A CT scan specifically for emergencies will be commissioned shortly.

Established at a cost of approximately Rs.30,000,000 , this service has been made possible with a generous donation of Rs. 17,500,000 from the “Jasoda Narottam Public Charity Trust” and was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh.

A unique feature of this service is that all areas of this emergency care facility are computerised and are linked up through a Local Area Network, for both clinical and administrative needs. Dedicated software has been developed for the same. In time, this data will be exploited for evaluating and defining emergency management and treatment protocols in a typical urban Indian setting and could be used to develop and set standards for emergency medical practice in India.