Hemas Hospital Thalawathugoda fully geared for ‘Golden Hour’ emergency care

Tuesday, 10 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

“Lives of a majority of critically injured trauma patients, acute medical conditions and those showing symptoms of cardiac arrest can be saved if definitive medical intervention is provided within the first 60 minutes from the moment of occurrence,” said Hemas Hospital, Thalawathugoda General Manager Dr. Chamila Ariyananda. The 60 minute time period defined as the ‘Golden Hour’ is the critical time in which transport of the patient to a hospital is essential so that appropriate surgical and support staff can perform the necessary life-saving surgery, she noted.

“It is crucial to transport the patient as quickly as possible to a hospital as tissues in the human body can repair and regenerate only if their oxygen supply is restored within a few minutes. Once critical time passes, the tissues get permanently damaged and could turn fatal if vital organs such as the heart are denied of oxygen,” explained Dr. Ariyananda. Hemas Hospital’s 24 x 7 emergency care unit is equipped and staffed by well-trained doctors, who are trained to act rapidly in critical care management in order to treat emergencies efficiently. The state-of-the-art emergency department is equipped to handle thousands of cases a year and since its opening in June this year, has treated well over 2,500 emergency victims and patients. Its design, universal function for high-tech equipment and patient friendly features allows for the delivery of efficient and personalised care. The hospital is geared to handle all types of emergency care and treatment for surgical, paediatric, gynaecology patients. The emergency care offering at Hemas Hospital Thalawathugoda includes expertise and protocol to ensure that a patient is diagnosed accurately and treated promptly. Hemas Hospitals Managing Director Panjan Navaratnam said that the hospital’s recently launched Healthy Lifestyle Club is an initiative to prod the community in taking a keen interest in helping identify the risk factors associated with one’s lifestyle and be helped by professional medical and healthcare specialists in minimising the risk levels of heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer. “Our thinking is that early detection and an overall healthy lifestyle can help prevent the onset of many non-communicable diseases,” re-iterated Navaratnam. Hemas Hospitals Thalawathugoda is a 60 bed full capacity, high tech hospital with the capability to treat 150,000 patients a year. The hospital has its own nurses training centre, located close by and with a combination of a compassionate approach and innovation, creates outstanding patient experience. It is the only hospital chain to be awarded the prestigious Australian Council on Healthcare Standard International (ACHSI) accreditation across its multi-chain and is implementing a hands-on approach to deliver on quality and patient safety, based on the compliance. Hemas Hospitals is a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings, one of Sri Lanka’s leading conglomerates with a focus on five key sectors of FMCG, healthcare, transportation, leisure and power generation.