Voice Of Good Samaritan: I Was Crying For Help And The Doctor Was Busy On  WhatsApp
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Image(Representational) Source: gulfnews

This is first person experience of what many people go through when they try to help a road accident victim. This case again highlights the apathy of common people. Compassion is contagious, if you don’t help someone in need, then there will be no one to help when you will be in need.

“I witnessed an utterly sad and disappointing incident that occurred on Thursday, 21st January in Pune.

I was returning home and on my way at Holkar Bridge, at Khadki at 7:15 PM, I noticed a crowd that had gathered at a spot near the pavement and slowed down assuming an accident had occurred. As I got off my car, I approached the crowd and around 15- 20 people had gathered and were standing over an elderly man who was lying motionless on the pavement, his eyes were swollen, ears were bleeding profusely and he obviously was in a state of shock and hence was unable to speak. He had been hit by a bike and the rider rode away! Seeing the situation, I assumed the crowd had carried him on to the pavement.

I am not sure if someone had called an ambulance, but I thought it was best to take the injured person to a hospital and therefore I carried him into my car and took him to the closest hospital – Cantonment Hospital at Khadki. On reaching there, I was shocked to know that the team there could only do so much as wipe off his blood and nothing else! The reason they gave for unable to provide help was this case could only be registered and handled only at a Govt Hospital. Meanwhile, as I was doing my best to get some medical help for the old man, he was bleeding profusely and was lying motionless and unconscious. The Cantonment Hospital staff suggested me to take him to Sasoon Hospital. They put him into an ambulance only after completing tedious formalities which took away some precious time. No ward boy or anyone suitable accompanied us for assistance in the ambulance and at one point he was so disoriented that he fell from the stretcher onto the floor of the ambulance as I was outside finishing the formalities.I had to sit with him behind in the ambulance and no one else assisted us at all while on the way to Sasoon.

Once we reached the Sasoon casualty, not a single ward boy was in sight. What was shocking was that there was no stretcher either. When I got off, I asked the staff and they shockingly asked me to go around in search of a stretcher. They even refused to guide me as to where I would be able to find a stretcher. I had to run around all alone looking for a stretcher and during all this, none of the staff helped or even guided me.

Finally I found a stretcher and took him into the casualty ward where there was not even a single ward boy who could assist and the doctors there asked me to put him on to a bed in the emergency / casualty ward and while I was struggling to pick him up and put him on the bed they just stood there and watched. Once I put him on the bed, the staff only cleaned the profusely bleeding ears with cotton and they asked me to do the admission formalities. So I went to do it while the poor old man was left unattended. Finally after 10 mins I got the admission done and I ran to the casualty where they asked me to get the signature of the police. So I went running again to where the police were stationed and the guard there told me that he will be back in 15 minutes. So I wait there anxiously and with lot of guilt because I could see how I was losing this old man and how I was unable to do anything. I then lost my patience and rushed into the casualty and told the doctors to be more human! I raised my voice as I was feeling helpless. To this one of the doctors pointed his finger at me and asked to shut up and be calm and that they will do what has to be done. In the mean time they filled out some sheets and asked me to take the-the patient for a CT scan. I said ok can I get a stretcher to which the same doctor told me to go and look for it since I was so restless. So I again raised my voice saying I will do it just tell me where to find a stretcher. So one of the other guys told me where it is and I went and got the stretcher. Here again no one helped me to put him on the stretcher instead they just stood there and watched me struggling. I some how put the injured old man on the stretcher and with great difficulty pushed the stretcher all alone banging the walls as I went as it was impossible for me to handle it alone. The doctor just walked along but never helped.
So I somehow reach the CT scan room and once again no one assisted me to pick him up and put him on the table. I did it and also held the hand of the restless patient hard so they could take the scan. After it was done I picked him up again and put him back on the stretcher that’s when the CT scan in charge saw that there’s blood and urine on his table so he very rudely asked me to clean it. All these guys were in their gloves and masks and still nobody helped but just rudely told me where the cotton and the sanitizer was kept and they just watched as I cleaned all the blood and urine from the table. I was so disheartened that I asked these people, the so called doctors that did they have any humanity left in them!

So from there I pushed the stretcher and took him to the Xray ward where the person was much more co-operative but never touched the old man but made me pick him up and place the board and other stuff required for the Xray after which he too did the same thing of asking me to clean everything before I leave. But he was at least kind enough to offer me some sanitizer when I left.

After the X-ray, he asked to wait there and we waited for 10 minutes and that’s when this old mans body fully cramped and he gave that scary jerk where for a moment I closed my eyes as I couldn’t see his pain and could literally see his life go. The man just loosened after that and he started coughing profusely with froth coming from his mouth. That’s when the doctor who was with me all this while asked me to rush him back to the casualty. So I again ran with the stretcher with this junior boy just strolling behind me.
As soon as I reach the casualty the doctors saw his condition there and started some activity where they started putting some pipe into his mouth and start sucking the blood out. While 2 of them rushed and one was asking the Doctor (who I think was a senior but looked very young) on what to do next he was busy on his phone on WhatsApp and that’s when I lost all cool and I called Rahul Chandawarkar for help.

So after that calls and some 20 minutes later he was in the Trauma ICU and by then his relatives had arrived after which I waited for them for some time and left.

I picked up this guy at 7.30 p.m. and had rushed him in traffic to the hospital hoping that something would be done but to my disbelief he was not even touched till 10 pm. On Saturday morning I, got a call from his son saying that he had passed away.I called him back at around 4 pm to ask where he was and he said that they are still in the hospital waiting for the post-mortem.

I have lost all faith in our health system. I am gravely disappointed with Sasson hospital, Pune!
Having narrated this painful incidence to you, I would also like to highlight a few things to all of them reading this:
1. Please have a valid id on you always
2. Please have your close family members contact details and your residential address with you
3. Why do such cases only have to be treated at a Govt Hospital?
4. Why were the staff so rude, cold and indifferent towards a life that needed help?

With the help of press, I have been able to set up an enquiry commission at Sasoon. They had called me to identify the doctors and were supposed to give me a stamped report on Monday.
I will share that here as soon as I get it.

In the mean time, I request all my friends to share this incident so much that it reaches the higher authorities and they take some corrective steps.”
Shrijith Ravindran

The Logical Indian appeals to the authorities to take action against the hospital staffs and set an example for other hospitals so that the mistakes are not repeated. We lost a precious life, just because of the apathy of the staffs and no one tried to help the person, who was trying to help a road accident victims which discourages other good Samaritans.

If you are not aware of Good Samaritan Guidelines, please read this: Now Help Road Accident Victims Without Fear Of Legal Harassment

Click here to know about “Good Samaritan Guidelines” or if you/anyone you know has been harassed for being a good samaritan, share your story here: Protect Bystanders and Enable Them to Save Lives

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Editor : The Logical Indian

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