Dikhyaa Mohanty 
There has been no headway even after three years been passed since the state government had made tall claims of setting up trauma care facilities in Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital (PRM MCH).
According to the official reports, the Health and Family Welfare Department had responded in a tweet to an article ‘Trauma Care non-existent in Baripada MCH’ published in these columns on September 7, 2018, stating that at least 10 trauma care facilities will start functioning in the State within six months. However, no step has so far been taken in this regard as the MCH still lacks the infrastructure and manpower to set up the centre conceptualised in 2017.
The report further stated that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under a scheme ‘Capacity Building for Developing Trauma Care Facilities on National Highways’ provides 100 per cent grants to set up trauma care centres to bring down the number of road accident deaths to 10 per cent by developing a pan-India trauma care network. The motive was no accident victim should be transported more than 50 km for treatment. In the case of PRM MCH, its administrative building (the old DHH) is 5 km from NH-18 and the main building at Rangamatia is 2 km from the highway.
Dr Ramesh Chandra Maharaja, associate professor of the orthopaedics department stated that PRM MCH has been operating from the DHH premises since 2017 due to lack of space in the old MCH building. In the absence of trauma care, such services are being managed in the general orthopaedic and casualty wards.
