Bihar govt bid to save accident victims
2 min readPATNA: The state transport department has formulated a standard operating procedure (SoP) to ensure timely medical aid to accident victims.
The SoP, based on recent guidelines from the Union ministry of road transport and highways, will be unveiled on May 3 at a function at Patna’s Gyan Bhawan from where CM Nitish Kumar will inaugurate the state’s first driving school, Institute of Driving and Traffic Research, at Aurangabad.
Sources said the SoP would prescribe that anyone helping an accident victim should not be made a witness without consent. If the good Samaritan consents to be a witness but doesn’t wish to visit a police station, a policeman in civvies would visit him/her at a time and place chosen by him/her.
“If medical intervention is provided to accident victims within the ‘golden hour’ of 60 minutes after the accident, many lives can be saved,” transport secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said on Friday and added the SoP was meant to spare good Samritans the legal hassles after helping an accident victim.
According to the SoP, no information except the name and address would be sought from the person helping an accident victim. S/he would also be rewarded with public recognition in an official ceremony in the district.
“Any stranger bringing an accident victim to a doctor or a hospital — private or government — will not have to pay any fee for the purpose. Negligence of the doctor on this count will be considered professional misconduct, and administrative action will be taken against the dcotor concerned,” Agarwal said.
An ’emergency committee’ will be formed in every hospital to ensure adherence to the SoP.
Courtesy: TNN
