GCC Road Safety Week delegation visits HMC’s Trauma Section

A delegation from the GCC Traffic Police Department visited the Trauma Section at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) on Monday as part of the 28th GCC Road Safety Week activities. HMC has organized the program to orient the visitors on the healthcare and rehabilitation services it provides to victims of road traffic accidents. 

The delegation was received by Mr Hamad Nasser Al-Khalifa, Chief of Facilities and Workforce Development at HMC and Dr Hassan Al-Thani, Senior Consultant and Head of Trauma and Vascular Surgery at HMC. In a lecture at Ibn Al Nafees Hall, Women’s Hospital, Dr Al Thani discussed the health problems caused by road traffic accidents (RTAs) and the range of healthcare and rehabilitation services provided by HMC to RTA trauma patients. 

“Upon comparing the number of deaths against the number of population, we found that the mortality rate of road traffic accidents in Qatar is double the rate in the USA. During last year, the Trauma Surgery Section received more than 1,770 patients with critical injuries caused solely by road traffic accidents, and all of them were hospitalized,” said Dr Al-Thani. “Two-thirds of these injuries were caused by car collisions, one-fourth caused by cars hitting pedestrians, and the rest were caused by motorbike and bicycle accidents.” 

Dr Al-Thani added that the majority of RTA trauma patients fall within the age range of 20-29, while in 20 percent of the total cases, the patients were below the age of 15. Statistics show that most road traffic accidents occur to Qatari nationals, followed by two other Asian nationalities. “50 percent of deaths occur at the accident scene, 30 percent occur within one week of the accident, and 20 percent of deaths occur after the lapse of more than one week from the date of the accident.” 

“The following measures should be undertaken to avert RTA deaths: first is to avoid trauma as much as possible, which brings potential mortality down to 50 percent; second, to strive to minimize the severity of the trauma, which brings down potential mortality by 30 percent; and finally to secure an integrated system of healthcare services with a competent EMS system and the proper rehabilitation of accident victims, which reduces potential mortality by 20 percent,” said Dr Al-Thani. 

Dr Al-Thani urged the adoption of protective measures to avoid road traffic accidents, such as abiding by traffic rules and regulations including speed limits, fastening security belts and putting children on the appropriate safety chairs on the back seat of the vehicle. “Moreover, there should be close and continuous coordination among the State’s agencies and corporations concerned with road traffic problems in order to reduce casualties resulting from accidents.” 

The delegation also toured the units affiliated with the Trauma Surgery Section, including the Resuscitation Unit, the Trauma Intensive Care Unit (TICU) and the inpatient section. Physicians briefed the visitors on the role of each unit in providing healthcare services for trauma patients. A short documentary film based on a real car accident was shown to demonstrate the efforts exerted by HMC to rescue accident victims. 

Souvenirs were distributed to the members of the delegation to mark the occasion.