Rs 498 crore Polytrauma Centre sanctioned at NIMHANS North Campus

Bengaluru: In a major boost to Karnataka’s healthcare infrastructure, the Central government has approved the long-awaited proposal for a 300-bed Polytrauma Centre and Postgraduate Institute at Kyalasanahalli in Bengaluru North, where the north campus of NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) is being developed. The project, estimated to cost ₹498 crore, had been pending approval for over 11 years.

The approval was granted through a sanction letter dated June 27, issued by the Union Ministry of Finance, following persistent efforts from Bengaluru Rural MP Dr. C.N. Manjunath.

According to the sanction letter issued by the Union Ministry of Finance, the Union Health Ministry must ensure optimal use of resources—manpower, infrastructure, supplies, and medicines—aligned with the recommendations of the NITI Aayog’s 2021 report, Emergency and Injury Care at Secondary and Tertiary Level Centres in India. The facility will not only cater to emergency trauma cases but also serve regular patients to maximise its utility.

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“Given that nearly 15% of deaths in India are due to road accidents and about 30% of accident victims suffer from multiple injuries, the need for a dedicated trauma facility is urgent. The ability to provide comprehensive, immediate care under one roof during the ‘Golden Hour’ can significantly improve survival rates and recovery outcomes,” he said, reports the Hindu.

The Polytrauma Centre is expected to provide critical care for patients with complex and multiple injuries involving the brain, chest, abdomen, and bones. It also aims to address Bengaluru’s growing shortage of hospital beds and provide rapid, efficient trauma services in a city plagued by traffic congestion and delayed emergency responses.

In addition to trauma care, the new centre will feature a postgraduate institute to train trauma care specialists.

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Speaking to the Hindu, he said, “The outpatient footfall at NIMHANS, the country’s premier mental health institution, has increased from around 250 patients a day to 2,500 a day now. The hospital is always overcrowded and not able to cope with the load of patients. Because of space constraints and the non-availability of polytrauma services, critical patients are shifted from NIMHANS to other hospitals. Some of them die during transit,” he said.

Dr. Manjunath stated that the country’s second polytrauma centre, following the Jayaprakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre at AIIMS, New Delhi, would be established, marking a significant expansion of India’s trauma care infrastructure. The construction is scheduled to be completed in 30 months.

Although the Karnataka government had allocated 37 acres of land for the project and the proposal had passed through multiple rounds of revision by the institution’s governing body, final approval had been elusive for 11 years—until now.