SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 17: The Bihar-Jharkhand Plastic Surgeons Association (BJPSA) has appealed to the Jharkhand government to set up separate Plastic Surgery and Burn Care (PSBC) departments in all state medical colleges, similar to the recent initiative taken by the Bihar government across its 13 medical colleges.
Currently, Jharkhand has a dedicated PSBC department only at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, while other medical colleges lack such facilities.
Dr. Ajoy Kumar Singh, patron of BJPSA and a veteran plastic surgeon based in Ranchi, emphasized the growing need for specialized burn care and plastic surgery services. He called it “the need of the hour” to open separate departments in all medical colleges in Jharkhand to better serve patients, especially those from economically weaker sections.
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Current Challenges in Burn Care Facilities
At present, burn care services in Jharkhand’s medical colleges are managed under the general surgery departments. Burn patients are admitted to surgery wards and attended by general nursing and health staff, which increases the risk of infections due to lack of specialized care.
Dr. Singh highlighted that establishing independent departments would ensure burn patients receive treatment from specialist surgeons and reduce the risk of infection. “The association has urged the government to create separate departments in all medical colleges. We are ready to provide voluntary services in these departments for the benefit of patients,” he said.
Existing Plastic Surgery Infrastructure and Specialists
Apart from RIMS Ranchi, where Dr. Priyanka Kerketta is the sole plastic surgeon, other medical colleges lack dedicated plastic surgery and burn care units. Although specialists Dr. Lalit Minj and Dr. Gaurav have been recently appointed in MGMMCH Jamshedpur and SNMMCH Dhanbad respectively, they still operate under the surgery department.
The other three government medical colleges—PJMCH Dumka, SBMCH Hazaribagh, and MMCH Palamu—currently have no plastic surgery or burn care services.
Jharkhand, however, is home to several nationally recognized plastic surgeons such as Dr. Ajoy Kumar Singh, Dr. Pankaj Kumar, Dr. Prince Kumar Gupta (all from Ranchi), Dr. Vijay Shankar Prasad Sinha, Dr. Pankaj Singodia, and Dr. R Bharat (all from Jamshedpur).
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Need for Specialized Treatment for Various Burn Cases
Dr. Ajoy Kumar Singh explained that burn injuries vary widely, including electrical burns, industrial burns, lightning burns, friction burns, surgical burns, and others. Due to the diverse nature of burn injuries, specialist care in a separate department is essential to provide appropriate and effective treatment.
He urged the government to recognize the urgency of this need and establish dedicated plastic surgery and burn care departments across all medical colleges in Jharkhand to improve patient outcomes and reduce complications.
