From
the Desk of Sagar Galwankar, MD, FACEE, Diplomat. ABEM (USA)
There is a lot of media discussion
about the death of a Road Traffic Trauma Victim on the road without being
helped by bystanders in Karnataka.
Additionally exactly a week ago this very media was abuzz covering the story of an Anesthetist who gave CPR to a patient at Mumbai airport and saved a life.
A Tale of two Cities, Same Scenarios where a patient needed help and two different actions.
One saved the life one did not.
This left me thinking about the challenges for bystanders
to act as good Samaritans.
About the Road Traffic Incident:
With all International brands of cars on
the modern Indian roads and the affordability quotient of masses on the high …
car speed has become the major factor on buying car.
Unlike the other world…where car safety
is criteria for car buying… in India design and speed are the major factors for
car sales in India.
There are 4 lanes to 6 lanes highways,
there are international branded cars and there are our Indian drivers who have
the least disregard for other drivers or pedestrians. Coupled with that is the gross APATHY of the masses to just not respond to trauma victims lying
on the roads.
I was traveling in India recently and
in a city I saw a crash happen in front of my eyes. A driver was driving his
imported car and it crashed into a motor cycle being driven by a Non Helmeted
rider. It was an accident because the motor cycle skid and came in front of the
car and the rider got head injury. The rider was awake and bleeding but what
happened next ?
People gathered and started beating up
the driver who had stopped, gotten out of the car and picked the rider and put
him in his car and was taking him to the hospital. The first response of the by
standers was the Driver in Car must have made the mistake …… Hammer the driver.
No one cared about the VICTIM ?
This is a wrong behavior which needs to
be changed. The thought that Car Drivers have more money so they can afford
cars and if they are in a crash it’s their fault so take justice into their
hands and forget the patient is absolutely wrong. Forgetting the patient is just wrong.
This leads to the phenomenon of drivers
running away after hitting other pedestrians / vehicles. If anyone wants to
take the crash victims to the hospital they will not and just run away because
they don’t want to face the mob mentality.
And the mob does nothing except to
stare in majority of the cases. There are many cases when mobs do act….Well
they should act always.
In many of my public events where I was
called to inaugurate Road Safety and Basic Emergency Care Training programs I
ask one question: What do you do when you see a crash on the road?
The truthful answer I get is: we don’t
stop because we don’t want to get involved with the Mob or the Police.
Why are we as citizens afraid of doing
the right thing?
Police will not bother you if you
helped a bleeding victim. There is no use of learning Basic Life support
courses if you don’t have the intent to help someone in need. We still are far
from having EMS within minutes so the cars and bystanders are the first
responders and hence going to a hospital which has 24/7 Emergency Care with
Radiology and Laboratory Back up is the first important step after stabilizing
the airway c spine and stopping the bleeding.
Focusing on the Injured is very
important and that’s a First.
We have crowded cities and vast rural
corridors.
We have lack of space for pedestrians
to walk that’s why they walk on roads.
We have high speed corridors going
through rural area without crossings, overhead bridges or barricades.
This is all there because development
and infrastructure are in a mismatch.
What we can match is our behavior.
The government has constituted the good
Samaritan act. Even though this has happened the myth that helping a trauma
victim will invite undue involvement with the law continues to haunt the Indian
bystander.
There are innumerable factors which are
related to driving behaviors, road designs and traffic cultures. There are a multitude
of factors related to legal crackdown upon road killers and the various
agencies trying to institute safer roads and discipline violating drivers.
That is not in question here.
The question is “How do we change the
GROSS INDIFFERENCE OF THE MASSES”
About the Mumbai CPR Saving Incident:
The CPR was provided by a trained anesthetist.
The media was abuzz.
The lesson learnt should have been
CPR Training at every level is a must. That is what media should have advocated.
AED across the nation is what should have been advocated.
Bystander RESCUE is crucial to saving lives for individual patients and in disasters.
SUGGESTED INTERVENTIONS:
EDUCATION, AWARENESS, ADVOCACY, SOCIAL MARKETING, PROMOTION
ENGAGING THE GOVERNMENT, THE AGENCIES,
THE NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
TEACHING AT SCHOOL, COLLEGE, INDUSTRY
LEVEL, USING RADIO, TV TO PROMOTE THE MESSAGE.
The vehicle industry and the road
traffic license departments have to take a lead role in education and
regulation of behavior of travelers. Just selling vehicles and issuing licenses
is not the only responsibility.
Changing our behavior and educating the
masses is the key.
We should be responsible and
always remember the INJURED IS ALWAYS FIRST !
INDUSEM has launched the Jan Suraksha Abhiyan on Injury Prevention which compliments the Prime Ministers Jan Suraksha Bima Yojana on Insurance of Accidents and Injured victim. www.indusem.org
INDUSEM has launched the Jan Suraksha Abhiyan on Injury Prevention which compliments the Prime Ministers Jan Suraksha Bima Yojana on Insurance of Accidents and Injured victim. www.indusem.org