Railway emergency room or doctors’ waiting room?

In the first month since its inauguration, the medical room for railway victims at Dadar station, has treated only 19 patients

Railway emergency room or doctors' waiting room?

In the first month since its inauguration, the medical room for u00a0railway victims at Dadar station, has treated only 19 patients

The first medical room set up by the Mumbai suburban network at Dadar railway station, for victims of accidents and mishaps in the central and western lines, has turned out to be quite a dud. This fact is amply testified by the fact that only 19 cases have been treated ever since the room was inaugurated. Railway passengers seem to repose little faith in the skill of the doctors stationed at this medical room.

Waste of money? The first emergency medical room that was set up
at the Dadar railway station for the victims of both Central and Western
railways. Pic/Ankita Shah

On an average, not even a single patient reports for treatment to this room each day. Needless to say, this is the taxpayers' money going down the drain. Sources say that a whopping Rs 15 lakh was spent on constructing the room, after which a sum of Rs 5 lakh has been spent on maintenance and staff salary each month. The emergency room is armed with a doctor, a nurse and a dresser at all hours of the day, each working in eight-hour shifts.

Slow start
The emergency medical room was inaugurated on March 25. Till date, the staff stationed in this room has attended to a meagre 19 cases, of which only four were major cases, the rest being for preliminary first-aid treatment.u00a0 What doesn't add up, however, is that in the same period, a total of as many as 19 accidents were registered by the Central Railway (CR), which resulted in 10 casualties and nine in injuries. The death toll for accidents in the western line was one, while seven sustained injuries. This begs the question as to why the room is only the last resort for accident victims, and not the first.

Idle hours
Even doctors at the medical room are dissatisfied with the kind of response, or lack of response they have been getting. "We are qualified doctors and accustomed to full-fledged treatment of different kinds of patients. Here, we just mechanically sit through our duty hours. Patients who come in are few and far between, and that too only for basic first-aid. In case of major accidents, we have to immediately shift the patients to the Sion Hospital, since we have not been provided with the sophisticated equipments required to handle major cases," said a doctor.

He also added that a greater number of patients came to treat fever and common cold, than injuries sustained in railway accidents.u00a0 "As doctors, it is our duty to attend to all the patients who come to the medical room seeking treatment. However, we are witnessing only a miniscule number of railway victims, contrary to our expectations," he added.

Joint venture
The CR and WR had worked hand in hand to make the vision of an emergency room a reality, since commuters travelling on both the networks use the Dadar station. The room was set up on CR's platform number 6, supplanting the ticket checker's office. The room is usually plied with doctors from the railway hospitals. "This also proves that there is a scarcity of doctors in the railway hospitals, since they can only provide one doctor at a time," said the doctor.

Before the room opened its doors, Dadar station, like most others, was equipped with only a first-aid kit, which stayed with the station master. The emergency room was built in response to directives from the Supreme Court. "This is not the final word. We will be reviewing the room after it completes three months, after which we will give feedback. Till date, it can be said that it has not welcomed too many patients. It has not proved to be very advantageous for the railway passengers," admitted another doctor.

The Other Side
A K Singh, PRO, CR, said, "The medical room is providing first-aid services to the railway victims. This is indispensable for them. The room is very useful." Samir Zaveri, director (accidents), Mumbai Suburban Railway Passengers' Association, whose initiative and drive resulted in plans for the emergency room, appears to be happy with the progress made by the room.

"If the medical room is saving one single life a month, it is well worth the venture. I thank the medical room doctors and the Supreme Court for helping me make this vision a reality. Other stations should also be equipped with similar facilities. I will soon focus my attention on a similar venture for Kurla station, since it records a maximum number of accidents," u00a0said Zaveri, who fought relentlessly from court for three long years, for a medical room.

Rs 15 lakh The amount spent in constructing the emergency medical room
Rs 5 lakh The amount spent on maintenance and staff salary each month