HOSPIMedica fair opens at Hitex

The 10th HOSPIMedica, the leading event for the medical industry, to be held till February 15, was formally inaugurated today by Anji Reddy, the director of health services, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Veerabhadraiah, the district collector of Hyderabad, inaugurated the one-day conference on cmergency medicine and disaster management EMERGE'INDIA.

Sangita Reddy, director (operations), Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, said on the occassion that there was an urgent need to recognise emergency medicine as a specialty subject and introduce post-graduation courses on it.

Dr Reddy said India had the largest number of fatalities due to automobile accidents in the world. Studies done by various organizations like the World Bank, National Academy of Sciences and the World Road Association had shown that in India, which had less than 4 million vehicles, over 56,000 persons were dying every year.

In contrast, in the US, which has over 175 million vehicles, less than 35,000 succumb to auto accidents per year. The death rate is 2 people per 10,000 vehicles in the US, 32.5 people per 10,000 vehicles in Pakistan, and 140 people per 10,000 vehicles in India. He advocated the enactment of an emergency medical services legislation on a state-wide basis on the lines of those in the US and 49 other countries in the world.