Accra, Aug. 21,-Participants at a seminar on Current Concepts and Management of Diseases of the Spine last night advocated for more public education on the handling of accident victims with spinal fractures. They contended that the way an accident victim is handled while being transported from the accident site to a health post could be a determining factor in the successful treatment of such victims. The five-day seminar, being attended by more than 60 general and specialist medical practitioners, is being organised by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), New York, to mark the fifth anniversary of the Trust Hospital. Professor Kwaku Korsah, a former orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Ghana Medical School, described the history of accident surgeries at the Korle bu Teaching Hospital as pathetic. He said 100 ambulances provided for the Hospital since 1974 have all run down and there were no replacement. "It is only by the grace of God that some accident victims arrive whole", he said and called for the provision of more ambulances to make the transportation of accident victims more congenial. Dr Oheneba Boachie-Adjei and Dr Bernard Rawlins, Chief of Scoliosis Services and Consultant at the HSS respectively, said apart from being resource persons at the seminar, they are interviewing patients with spinal disorders to know how best they can be of help to the country. They said the interviews which is the first step of a long term programme of assistance, would lead to the establishment of a centre of excellence to manage orthopaedic and spinal problems. It will help among other things, carry out educational programmes on public health and provide information on handling people with spinal and other anatomical problems. According to them, the envisaged Centre will be a collaborative project with residency programmes and assistance from physicians and the Ministry of Health. Dr Nii Bonney Andrews, Chief of Neurosurgery and Critical Care, at the East Legon Hospital and Pain Clinic, suggested the setting up of Accident and Emergency (A&E) centres at vantage points in the country to attend to accident victims. He maintained that this does not require expensive or extensive structures, saying, "even small structures with trained paramedics can do the job". According to him, such a step could also reduce the burden on the country's major hospitals.