The Supreme Court has directed states and Union territories to adopt a uniform trauma care policy within three months. The policy aims to standardize first aid skills, protect Good Samaritans, and roll out a medical rescue protocol in emergency cases.
A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar said that the right to trauma care is an integral part of the right to life enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The directions came in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Savelife Foundation, which quoted National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures to show how trauma is a major killer.
The court directed all states and union territories to integrate their police, fire, ambulance service, and other common helpline mechanisms to one common helpline number '112'. The universal access number was proposed by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) under its Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) project.
The court also directed states and UTs to establish functional Good Samaritan Grievance Redressal Systems with designated nodal authorities at state and district level within three months.
Additionally, the court directed the Union government to issue a 'medical rescue protocol for trauma cases' within three months, and for all states/UTs to operationalize it in the following three months.
The states and UTs were also told to ensure all registered ambulances have mandatory Global Positioning System (GPS), Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) fitment and real-time integration with helpline 112.
The court granted three months for integrating emergency medical training in all training institutions and certified personnel, and eight weeks for operationalising the PM-RAHAT scheme throughout the country.
The state and UT governments were directed to publicise these directions to ensure citizens are made aware to avail these facilities in case of any emergency.
