...... RIGHT TO HEALTH 65 Dr. Justice A.S.Anand, Chairperson of the Commission. In his opening remarks, the Chairperson stated that the main purpose behind the setting up of the Expert Group by the Commission was to study the existing system of emergency medical care and to suggest improvements. He said that in light of the Upahar Cinema tragedy, the Commission took up this matter. He expressed concern over the present state of the hospitals, lack of transportation to rush victims to hospitals, inept handling of victims while transporting them and inadequate arrangements for dealing with road and rail accidents and burn injuries. The Chairperson said that the objective of the present exercise was to evolve some practical recommendations for improvements wherever necessary in the existing system for emergency medical care, which could then be sent to the policy framers in the Government. 6.9 The Group of Experts deliberated on various aspects of emergency medical care and submitted a report on 7 April 2004 (Annexure 7). The group of experts reviewed the existing scenario, including the centralized Accident and Trauma Services (CATS). In their report, the Group stated that nearly 4,00,000 persons lose their lives due to injuries, nearly 75,00,000 persons are hospitalized and 35,000,000 persons have minor injuries and are receiving emergency care at various places in India. The present system of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in the country is functioning sub-optimally and requires upgradation. The report of the Group of Experts set up by the Commission on EMS revealed the lacunae which exist in the present EMS and made a number of recommendations for implementation in the short-term and in the long term, including enunciation of a national accident policy and establishment of a central coordinating, facilitating, monitoring and controlling committee for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. On 11 May 2004, the Commission asked the Union Health Secretary, Director General of Health Services, Government of India and the Chief Secretaries of all States and Administrators of Union Territories to have appropriate follow-up action initiated on these recommendations and also intimate the action taken to the Commission. In the following years, the Commission proposes to closely monitor the implementation of these recommendations. The Commission also proposes to further look into the infrastructure facilities, equipment, staffing and training at various levels of health care delivery viz. primary health centers, sub district/ taluka hospitals, district hospitals, medical colleges and teaching institutions. E] Sub-standard Drugs and Medical Devices 6.10 The Commission has been deeply concerned about the issue of unsafe drugs and medical devices. Over the past few years, the Commission took up a number of specific aspects like contamination of intravenous fluids etc. and made recommendations to the concerned authorities. The Commission held a meeting with senior representatives of the Central Government, a number of State Governments and voluntary organizations working in the field in November 2003 followed by another consultation in March 2004. ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04