SHILLONG, Oct 9: After losing his father Biman Talukder in an accident here recently, Badsha Talukder has written to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in a bid to bring to his attention some glaring issues pertaining to security and healthcare infrastructure in the city.
In the letter to the CM, he said, “My father was fatally hit by a speeding motorbike, barely 15 metres away from the Shillong Civil Hospital, post which glaring questions on basic security and the Golden Hour facilities and their appalling response have garnered attention to the public.”
Talukder expressed anguish recalling the unfortunate incident on September 20 stating that there was immediate action taken at all major fronts.
The absence of traffic police, internal communication between multiple traffic points and non functional CCTV cameras in a central location like Civil Hospital point had aggravated the situation, he observed.
The only video footages that could be traced were from the Army Station Office and the Civil Hospital entrance cameras, which showed no details of the biker which could be used by the police.
“Days have passed by with vague answers from administration. There is no impetus from the system to nab the culprit,” he rued.
Bringing to his attention the next crucial concern, Talukder raised another baffling question — “How far does one need to be from a hospital after a traumatic accident to survive”? “My father was 15 metres away from Shillong Civil Hospital. Sadly, the trauma centre in Shillong Civil Hospital has no Neurologist and lacks well trained manpower. My father was lying around in Civil Hospital without medical attention and first aid for at least one hour after which he was referred to Woodland Hospital due to lack of facilities,” he said.
Just after the accident, the first hour is known as the golden hour. In most cases of road accident excessive bleeding and lack of oxygen is the most common causes of death. Thus, any trauma centre must be equipped with such basic facilities and manpower. Around the world, it has been observed that administering immediate First Aid in this hour can save lives of such patients.
“The nonchalance of the officials has left us to believe that they have set themselves free of all encumbrance of running a publicly funded institution. My father survived at least a few hours post the accident that evening and finally succumbed at about 11 in the night at Woodland Hospital and remorsefully we are left with only unanswered questions,” Talukder said in the letter.
He has questioned as to why the trauma centre in Civil Hospital is so “ill-equipped”.
“Why are such basic facilities missing in the trauma centre of the Civil Hospital? Why did the health officials not administer any first aid when the patient was brought in? Why did the officials insist on shifting to a private hospital?” the letter stated.
He suggested that an example be set by nabbing the culprit that killed his father, and making the trauma centre well-equipped.
