Patiala, Nov. 13 -- None of the 23 district hospitals and around 44 sub-divisional hospitals is having a neurosurgeon in Punjab that sees nearly 13 road mishap victims losing their lives every day. The state has only four neurosurgeons across three medical colleges to take care of patients with traumatic brain injuries. In this scenario, patients often face delays in receiving appropriate treatment, with timely medical attention hinging on referrals to tertiary care hospitals. On Wednesday, after a PRTC bus hit a bridge wall near the chief minister's residence in Sangrur leaving three passengers dead and injuring 26 others, the patients had to be shifted to Government Rajindra Hospital, which is attached to Government Medical College in Patiala. Dr Vinod Kumar, senior medical officer at the Sangrur civil hospital, said patients were referred to Rajindra Hospital because of the unavailability of a neurologist or neurosurgeon. The state has just four neurosurgeons at three facilities - Government Medical College, Patiala; Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot; and Government Medical College, Amritsar. According to data presented by the Union ministry of road transport and highways in the Rajya Sabha, Punjab recorded 4,759 road fatalities in 2024, averaging 13 deaths every day. A senior official in the Punjab health department confirmed that no district hospital has a super-specialist, including a neurosurgeon. He said district hospitals currently provide secondary-level healthcare, while patients requiring tertiary and super-specialty treatment are referred to government medical colleges. Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh, while talking to HT, said setting up neurosurgery facilities at district hospitals is not feasible as the specialty requires a dedicated infrastructure and a team of specialists to support complex surgeries. He said the availability of neurosurgeons at government medical colleges had improved over the past few years: "The AAP government is working to expand super-specialty services. A super-specialty block is being planned for the Government Medical College in Mohali. New medical colleges in Sangrur, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala will further improve super-specialist availability and help reduce delays in treating road accident victims during the golden hour."...