After over a decade of delays, the Central government has sanctioned the establishment of a 300-bed Polytrauma Centre and Postgraduate Institute at Kyalasanahalli in Bengaluru North, the site of the upcoming north campus of NIMHANS. The long-pending project, with an estimated cost of ₹498 crore, was formally approved via a letter issued by the Union Ministry of Finance on June 27.
The proposal gained momentum after C.N. Manjunath, MP from Bengaluru Rural and a noted cardiologist, submitted a concept note to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda in July last year, urging expedited approval.
The Finance Ministry’s sanction letter emphasizes the need to optimize resources—including manpower, infrastructure, medical supplies, and medicines—as recommended by NITI Aayog’s 2021 report on “Emergency and Injury Care at Secondary and Tertiary Level Centres in India.” It further stated that the proposed trauma centre should serve both emergency and routine patients to maximize efficiency.
Highlighting the urgency of the project, Dr. Manjunath pointed out that road accidents account for nearly 15% of all deaths in India, with around 30% of victims suffering from multiple injuries. "Providing integrated, immediate care during the critical ‘Golden Hour’ can significantly boost survival rates and recovery outcomes," he said.
The facility is designed to handle complex trauma cases involving the brain, head, chest, abdomen, and skeletal system. It will not only help ease the increasing burden on Bengaluru’s overstrained healthcare system but also address the acute shortage of trauma care beds in Karnataka. The centre will additionally house a postgraduate training institute for trauma care specialists.
Dr. Manjunath noted that outpatient visits at NIMHANS have surged from 250 to 2,500 patients daily, severely straining its capacity. The lack of polytrauma services has led to critical patients being transferred to other hospitals, with some succumbing during transit.
The new centre will be only the second of its kind in India, following the Jayaprakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre at AIIMS, New Delhi. Construction is expected to be completed within 30 months.
Despite the State government having allocated 37 acres of land and multiple rounds of revisions and approvals by the governing body, the project remained stalled for 11 years until now.