Tamil Nadu’s emergency care centres treat 2.29 lakh patients in 12 years

In trauma care, doctors speak of the “golden hour” — 60 minutes, during which every second carries weight. But what happens if advanced trauma facilities are miles away from accident-prone highways and expanding urban fringes? This is where Tamil Nadu’s Emergency Care Centres (ECC) — located along highways, including those on Chennai’s outskirts — have stepped in, playing a vital role over the past 12 years by handling more than two lakh cases and achieving a 96% survival rate among the critically injured and ill.

Since their inception, the ECCs have served a total of 2,29,065 persons so far. The State now has 12 ECCs, run by EMRI Green Health Services under the Tamil Nadu Health System Project, which also operates the 108 ambulance network, strategically located along key highways and high-risk stretches. These centres function at strategic locations at Acharapakkam, Padianallur, Singaperumal Koil, Mahabalipuram, Veppur, Santhavelur, Kodumbalur, Madhanur, Madurai, Magundachavadi, Shoolagiri, and Gummidipoondi. Each centre handles nearly 10 cases per day. Out of the cases handled daily, 50% are trauma-related, Keerthi Varman K., head of Emergency Medicine Learning Centre and ECC, said.

Stabilising patients

M. Selvakumar, State Head of Operations, EMRI Green Health Services, said the aim of these centres is to stabilise patients and refer them to appropriate health facilities.

How are places identified for establishing an ECC? Locations for ECCs are determined through a grid analysis of locations where fatal accidents are high, using Tamil Nadu’s annual accident data. The proximity of the nearest tertiary care facility is assessed, and if no Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative centre or medical college hospital exists within a 25-km radius, a government building near the hotspot is identified and proposed for the ECC.

Need-based centres

These centres are entirely need-based. Once an accident-prone location is adequately addressed, the facility is relocated to another identified hotspot. For instance, the ECC at Chromepet, set up in 2013, was shifted to Acharapakkam in 2021 after the Chromepet Government Hospital (GH) was upgraded. Similarly, the ECC at Sriperumbudur was relocated to Santhavelur following the hospital upgrade, and the Injambakkam ECC was moved to Singaperumal Koil, Dr. Keerthi Varman explained.

The ECCs cater not only to persons injured in road traffic accidents along the highways but also to those facing medical emergencies — including chest pain, breathing difficulty, snake bites, poisoning, assaults, and falls — in surrounding areas.

The round-the-clock centres are equipped to handle accidents and medical emergencies, including managing airway, breathing and circulation, and stabilising patients. Each centre is staffed with one doctor and three paramedical personnel per shift, all trained in emergency protocols. “This is not a hospital but a stabilisation centre. For example, if a patient en route to a medical college hospital in a 108 ambulance deteriorates and needs to be stabilised, he/she is brought to the ECC. The patient spends a maximum of 30 minutes here, and is shifted to the appropriate facility soon after stabilisation,” he said.

Mr. Selvakumar added that ECCs help in reducing the death rate. “The government of India has taken note of the role played by these ECCs,” he said. In addition, temporary ECCs are set up at mass gatherings such as temple festivals.

Published – February 26, 2026 12:17 pm IST