Home / Health / Supreme Court Mandates Trauma Care Helplines Nationwide
Supreme Court Mandates Trauma Care Helplines Nationwide
29 May
Summary
- States must establish functional trauma care helpline '112' within three months.
- Good Samaritan grievance redressal system to be functional nationwide.
- Mandatory compliance for ambulances with GPS and trauma registry creation.
The Supreme Court has directed all states and Union Territories to establish a functional '112' helpline for emergency trauma care responses within three months. This significant ruling, based on a plea by the Savelife Foundation, underscores that the right to trauma care is an integral part of the constitutional right to life.
The directive also mandates the establishment of a robust good samaritan grievance redressal system nationwide. Furthermore, all registered ambulances, both public and private, must comply with automotive industry standards (AIS-125) and be equipped with GPS/vehicle location tracking devices, integrating real-time data with helpline 112.
States and UTs are required to create state trauma registries within four months, linked to a coordinated national registry. The court has also ordered sustained, multilingual mass-media campaigns to inform the public about helpline 112, good samaritan protections under the Motor Vehicles Act, and the cashless treatment scheme (PM-RAHAT), which must be fully operationalized by non-compliant states within three months.
