Newindpress

Mangalore, Jun 12: Twenty six- year-old Manjula, lost her battle for survival at one of the city’s oldest burns ward, in the Wenlock Hospital. There are many burns cases which end up at the casualty wards, sometimes declared dead.

Having 5 medical colleges with attached hospitals and more than 40 private nursing homes only the Father Mullers and Wenlock Hospitals have a separate ward for burns fatalities.

Despite all the medical sophistication the city can boast of Mangalore, is yet to see the emergence of a dedicated burns hospital.

Not many patients from the low income groups are as fortunate as Manjula to even get to a burns ward. With most fatalities being victims of either an accidental fire or dowry harrassment, they get classified as Medico-legal cases. This makes both the treatment and management of such cases sensitive. Added to this is a process of legal red-tapism. One of the first things which contribute to the above is that the patient needs to be isolated.

Secondly specially trained nursing staff must be deputed for their care.

As most private nursing homes have a profit motive, they also fear the risk of incurring heavy costs on a burns ward.

But hospitals like Fr Mullers in Kankanady, where an exclusive burns ward was established soon ran out of funds and patients and eventually shut down.

Now the hospital treats burns patients in another clean and isolated ward. Wenlock hospital was gifted the burns unit by the Lions Club in 1997.

Now the administration runs it from a fund of Rs two crore (not exclusive for the ward) given by the Government, however the ward is not state-of-the-art.

Most nursing homes have not taken initiative since the costs for treatment in burns cases are Rs 1500 per day. The city’s medical fraternity are in two minds regarding setting up a facility towards this purpose.

The Mangalore Medical Relief Society has only been lending support to Wenlock and Lady Goschen hospitals.

Mangalore is yet to see the emergence of a dedicated burns hospital.