Nearly 200 soldiers become disabled every year: Top Army doctor
Nearly 200 armed forces personnel become disabled every year, a senior doctor for the forces said, citing road accidents and snow avalanches, especially in hilly-terrains, as the prime reasons. Lt Gen Bipin Puri, Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Service, was citing the data available for the past 10 years. "There are physical, emotional, psychological issues involved in this," he said. Here's more.
Prime motto is to save life by damage-control surgery: Puri
"The disability armed forces personnel suffer are not only related to spinal cord and limbs - one of the most commonly noticed. Many a time there are cases of crippling of intestine and lungs due to injury to abdomen and chest," Puri said. He said in the armed forces medical service, the primary motto is to save the life by resorting to damage-control surgery.
Journey from being disabled soldier to abled person is challenging
The Indian Army is engaged in anti-militancy and anti-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast India. The Army alone has more than 10 lakh personnel. Lt Gen Puri said the journey from being a disabled soldier to an abled person is challenging and the Army has taken steps to mitigate the problems faced by its soldiers in this regard.
Army building more artificial limb sub-centers, base hospitals
The Army, Puri said, has an Artificial Limb Center, a premier institute in Pune, to address the problems related to disability of limbs. The Army is also building five ALC sub-centers in Chandigarh and Guwahati, and a base hospital each in Delhi and Lucknow to minimize the distance a disabled soldier from the northern region may have to travel for treatment, he said.
