LAHORE, Feb 6: The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) is all set to develop a speciality to train and prepare local doctors in trauma victims’ treatment.

Trauma is becoming one of the leading causes of death and morbidity all over the world. To fight it, the CPSP has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) to acquire its trauma care programme called ATLS®.

The MoU, it is learnt, was signed by Dr Steven N Parks, international course director at the University Medical Centre, Department of Surgery, California, and Dr Christoph Kaufmann, MD, Chair ATLS® Subcommittee, Trauma Service, Legacy Emanuel Hospital, Portland, USA, during their two-day visit to the CPSP by the end of last month.

The college will hire staff from the ACS as visiting faculty. The ACS will also conduct initial courses in Pakistan to train instructors who will eventually run the ATLS® courses in Pakistan under the auspices of the CPSP.

Nominated by the CPSP, the ACS will initially train a cadre of local instructors as well as one or more educators and course coordinators. Upon successful completion of initial courses, the trained instructors, educators and course coordinators will form the ‘regional ATLS® faculty’ in Pakistan.

The CPSP will offer this programme to medical graduates and postgraduates at its regional centres also.

Some 46 countries of the world, it is learnt, have already acquired and implemented the trauma care programme.

The main causes of trauma, which is a state of body and mind after unexpected, sudden and violent exposure, are vehicular accidents, industrial accidents, household accidents and natural calamities.

It is estimated that the unintentional injury accounted for over 3.8 million deaths, caused disability to more than 312 million and paralyzed over seven million patients across the world in 2000. Motor vehicle crashes account for most of the injuries and deaths in 70 per cent of the 39 countries for which data is available; and is second leading cause of death in 10 other countries.

The Oct 8 earthquake left a large number of trauma victims in Pakistan. Experts say that such incidents, which involve a large number of patients demanding immediate medical help, shatter nerves and hamper the cool of the attending doctors. In these circumstances, training in trauma care becomes a compelling need.

As soon as the regional ATLS faculty is developed, the CPSP will offer the trauma care programme to medical graduates and postgraduates at its all regional centres in the country. The college will also develop an animal house and labs, lecture hall, skill stations etc as a part of separate speciality for ATLS® at a cost of $200,000.