Ambulances delayed by barricades, tension while 18 wait to be shifted; two of them die
nNEWDELHI: Around 8pm on Tuesday, nearly 18 severely injured victims waited to be shifted from Mustafabad’s Al-hind Hospital to Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital. They required urgent treatment at the time.
But two ambulances that were to transport the patients stopped at the Brijpuri T-point. Security teams there had warned them that going any further into the riot-hit area would be a risk. When the drivers asked them to escort them to the hospital just a kilometre away, they allegedly refused.
In the meantime, two patients died.
As the communal clashes in north-east Delhi escalated across the city throughout Tuesday, Al Hind Hospital had received over 50 patients, some of them shot and injured, others injured in stone pelting or assaults. They were one too many for the hospital to handle.
Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti of the Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum said that he was trying to get ambulances to assist doctors at the Al Hind hospital and transfer 10 gunshot victims.
“We were told that the situation is tense and if we wanted to go despite their warnings, the police will take no responsibility for our safety,” said Shiv Ram, a medical attendant, who was in one of the ambulances.
Ram said after trying to negotiate with the police personnel, the ambulance driver tried to reach GTB hospital via alternative routes, but barricades and the tense atmosphere kept delaying them.
The wait continued till late night and frantic calls to drivers was met with replies that they were still reasoning with the police to allow them to pass. Security agencies told them that only government hospital ambulances will be allowed through the barricades.
“We kept getting calls from the hospital administration and we were all trying our level best to reach the injured on time. There have been instances when ambulances get stuck in traffic jams but this was an extraordinary situation. I have never felt this helpless,” said Ram.
While ambulance drivers were trying to find their way, another of their colleagues, a Delhi government Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) ambulance driver, was beaten up rioters and forced to return.
“We want to help but who will take responsibility if something happens to me?” said a Delhi government ambulance driver, who did not wish to be named.
“It is a pity that courts have to intervene so that patients can avail of basic treatment. After 24 hours of struggle, our team of eight doctors reached Mustafabad around 3pm on Wednesday. Patients, who had suffered injuries yesterday (Tuesday), were looked at again because they did not get proper treatment,” Bhatti said.
Medical staff from other hospitals in the riot-hit north-east Delhi also narrated grim tales of helplessness. A junior doctor at Shastri Park’s Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital said that on Tuesday evening, a man in his 20s was brought to the hospital with a bullet wound to the face. He had to be taken to GTB Hospital in a private car as their ambulance was surrounded by vandals at Bhajanpura.
“We had to stuff an oxygen cylinder inside the car along with the patient, Aman. We had an attendant and family members. When a patient has sustained such grievous wounds, improperly moving them may cause more damage,” said the junior doctor adding that she later learnt that Aman had succumbed to injuries at the GTB hospital.