SC: Trauma Care Part of Right to Life
A Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.S. Chandurkar also directed states to set up a functional grievance redressal system for Good Samaritans.
New Delhi:The Supreme Court has said citizens’ right to trauma care is an integral part of the right to life and directed all states and Union Territories to operationalise the emergency helpline number 112 within three months.
A Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.S. Chandurkar also directed states to set up a functional grievance redressal system for Good Samaritans.
The court was hearing a petition filed by SaveLife Foundation, which sought recognition of trauma care as a legal right in the public health system.
The court directed the Union health ministry to issue guidelines within eight weeks prescribing the data format for a trauma registry. It said all states and UTs must set up trauma registries covering all medical facilities and link them to a coordinated trauma registry within four months.
The court observed that accident victims often suffer shock, disorientation and helplessness, and depend on bystanders for immediate help. “Every minute spent without medical intervention or urgent care significantly narrows the scope for survival. Swiftness is quite literally like medicine,” it said.
The Bench said many bystanders hesitate to help accident victims due to fear of legal proceedings, police summons or the psychological pressure of the situation.
It said a uniform trauma care framework, public awareness, standardised first-aid training and proper implementation of Good Samaritan protections were necessary.
The court also permitted the Centre to issue a medical rescue protocol for trauma cases within three months and directed states and UTs to implement it within three months thereafter.
It further directed states and UTs to ensure AIS-125 compliance for all public and private ambulances, mandate GPS or vehicle location tracking devices, integrate them with helpline 112, and conduct periodic audits of ambulance response times, equipment, care quality and outcomes.
The Centre, states and UTs were also directed to conduct sustained multilingual awareness campaigns on helpline 112, Good Samaritan protections under Section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act, the grievance redressal system and the PM RAHAT cashless treatment scheme.