How Southern Railway is making ‘golden hour’ count
At the end of a 24-hour pleasant journey, as a train chugs into Chennai Central, how does one react when a co-passenger suddenly develops a medical condition? Delay in timely medical help, especially during the golden hour, can be the difference between life and death, and in a crowded public space like a terminal railway station, doctors are hard to come by.
To avoid such exigencies, Southern Railway started emergency medical care centres at 23 important stations including Central, Egmore, Tambaram, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Salem.
The concept was innovative, said railway officials. “We provide the land free of cost to the corporate hospital which can set up the facilities. In return, primary healthcare service is provided by them to railway passengers free of cost. It’s a win-win situation for all,” said additional general manager P K Mishra. Corporate hospital giants like Apollo and SRM have been involved with Southern Railway in this programme.
Physicians and nurses are stationed 24x7 at these centres which have equipment to resuscitate like defibrillator, nebuliser, and stretcher. Cases of heart attack, breathlessness and injuries suffered while boarding or alighting from trains among others are attended to. An ambulance is also stationed inside the station complex in case the patient has to be rushed to a nearby hospital. It is not compulsory that the patient be taken to a corporate hospital. “The patient or his family can choose to be treated at any hospital of their choice,” Mishra said. A majority of the patients treated at the Apollo emergency medical centre in Chennai Central have been sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital across Poonamalee High Road.
At Chennai Central, staff at the medical centre attend to around 22 patients per day while at Egmore and Tambaram around 20 and six passengers receive treatment. The model has been appreciated by all quarters in the railways, with Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani discussing it during a recent visit to Chennai. A top Southern Railway official said it was likely to be implemented at tions across the country after a stu formation cell’ which chec initiatives implemented in l across the country.
The centre at Chennai tral was started in Novem 2015 after a PIL in the Madras high court highlighted the lack of medical services at the station. The high court had given a general direction that the railways explore possibilities following which railway authorities implemented the programme “In railways, every contral entered with a private agency viewed with suspicion and under vigilance scanner, es when land is given for free. T order gave an opportunity for unique model,” a top official said.
K Baskar, member of Chennai divisional rail users consultative committee, said it should be extended to suburban terminals like Arakkonam and Tiruvallur, which catered to a large number of suburban passengers. “ A and B class stations should also benefit,” he said.
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To avoid such exigencies, Southern Railway started emergency medical care centres at 23 important stations including Central, Egmore, Tambaram, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Salem.
The concept was innovative, said railway officials. “We provide the land free of cost to the corporate hospital which can set up the facilities. In return, primary healthcare service is provided by them to railway passengers free of cost. It’s a win-win situation for all,” said additional general manager P K Mishra. Corporate hospital giants like Apollo and SRM have been involved with Southern Railway in this programme.
Physicians and nurses are stationed 24x7 at these centres which have equipment to resuscitate like defibrillator, nebuliser, and stretcher. Cases of heart attack, breathlessness and injuries suffered while boarding or alighting from trains among others are attended to. An ambulance is also stationed inside the station complex in case the patient has to be rushed to a nearby hospital. It is not compulsory that the patient be taken to a corporate hospital. “The patient or his family can choose to be treated at any hospital of their choice,” Mishra said. A majority of the patients treated at the Apollo emergency medical centre in Chennai Central have been sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital across Poonamalee High Road.
At Chennai Central, staff at the medical centre attend to around 22 patients per day while at Egmore and Tambaram around 20 and six passengers receive treatment. The model has been appreciated by all quarters in the railways, with Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani discussing it during a recent visit to Chennai. A top Southern Railway official said it was likely to be implemented at tions across the country after a stu formation cell’ which chec initiatives implemented in l across the country.
The centre at Chennai tral was started in Novem 2015 after a PIL in the Madras high court highlighted the lack of medical services at the station. The high court had given a general direction that the railways explore possibilities following which railway authorities implemented the programme “In railways, every contral entered with a private agency viewed with suspicion and under vigilance scanner, es when land is given for free. T order gave an opportunity for unique model,” a top official said.
K Baskar, member of Chennai divisional rail users consultative committee, said it should be extended to suburban terminals like Arakkonam and Tiruvallur, which catered to a large number of suburban passengers. “ A and B class stations should also benefit,” he said.
Source
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