To save more lives, they decided to test the `hub and spoke' model of healthcare four years ago. In this, smaller hospitals or spokes initiate primary treatment and stabilise patients before referring them to tertiary care centres or hubs.

"Damage can be prevented if the block in the patient's blood vessel is removed within three hours after symptoms surface," said Dr Mullasari, a senior cardiologist based in Chennai. In India, the average time to get specialised care is more than five hours and the key to reduce deaths was to cut the time taken to offer treatment, he said... Read More

Source Web Page : The Times of India