Mumbai: The Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) has vehemently denied a report in a section of the press that a 70-year-old businessman, Rama Shankar Singh (70) , died at Bandra railway station because its ambulance driver refused to take him to Hinduja Hospital on December 24.
In a detailed response MEMS said Singh, who experienced dizziness, collapsed at the station. A call was received from Harimohan Singh, the deceased’s son, in the ‘108’ control room at 5:38 PM. The ‘108’ ambulance stationed at Bandra Railway Station (vehicle number MH14CL1276) was dispatched at 5:41 PM with Incident ID 2024122405475. The GPS records indicate that the ambulance departed from Bandra Railway Station at 5:44 PM and arrived at Hinduja Hospital at 6:00 PM. Thus, the ambulance left with Rama Shankar Singh within three minutes of receiving the call. MEMS also provided GPS records to substantiate their claims. Singh, a resident of Bandra East, was in the clothing business. His son was unavailable for comment, as he was performing the last rites.
About The Case
Singh had boarded a Borivali-bound local train at Marine Lines around 5:00 PM on Tuesday. While on the train, he suffered chest pains and collapsed. Co-passenger Mehul Sanghrajka contacted Singh’s son and assisted Singh in alighting at Bandra Station. According to Sanghrajka, Singh managed to walk to the ambulance, but the ambulance driver allegedly wasted time, waiting for the doctor and citing other technical reasons. Unfortunately, Singh passed away en route to the hospital.
However, MEMS provided proof of the timeline, including the time the call was received, when the ambulance departed Bandra Station, and when the patient was handed over to the hospital. When contacted, Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said that the news report was misleading.
The contract for running the ambulance was done by the state government. “We received a call from a co-passenger, and railway staff attended to the person during the journey at multiple points. Initially, they refused any help, but later they asked for ambulance support which was quickly provided at Bandra Station. Unfortunately, the patient could not survive. Western Railway has multiple medical facilities at stations like First Aid Boxes, AED machines, Ambulances etc. Moreover, our station staff are trained in giving CPR and urgent medical support. In fact, recently one of our railway staff saved the life of one passenger at Marine Lines station.”
Abhishek further stated that recently we also launched the Namaste Health App, in collaboration with a private agency, for teleconsultation in emergency situations for our commuters at suburban stations. According to the station master, after receiving the information, all necessary support was provided to the passenger as soon as possible.
