Kollam: In a shocking incident, an accident victim died on Monday spending eight long hours in an ambulance as hospitals in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram denied him treatment. Murukan (46), a migrant labourer from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, was gravely injured in a motorcycle accident at Chathannoor Sunday night. The private hospitals refused to give him emergency trauma care as he had no money or bystanders to pay for medical expenses. A bachelor, he stayed in a rented house in Kottiyam was milking cows in the nearby areas to make a living. He had no relatives here.
The accident took place around 10 pm when a two-wheeler he was riding with his friend Muthu (24), also a Nagercoil resident, collided with another one near Ithikkara along the National Highway near Chathannoor. The police took both to the KIMS Hospital, which admitted Muthu as he had suffered only minor injuries and prescribed immediate surgery for Murukan as he was diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage. They gave him first aid, but the hospital lacked neurosurgeon and ventilator facility.
They arranged an ambulance from ‘Track’ trauma care charity. The emergency medical technician Rajesh Raju tried his best to maintain the blood pressure and heart pulse using the life saver devices in the ambulance, assisted by its driver Vijayakumar and Track member Rona Rebeiro. He was taken to Meditrina Hospital in Ayathil and was redirected to Travancore Medicity Medical College Hospital citing the absence of neuro surgeon.
“The Medicity denied treatment as he lacked a bystander. We had no choice but to carry him to Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital travelling 75 km away. There he had to wait for another three hours without being paid any attention. The ventilators were all engaged,” Mr Rebeiro told DC. The ambulance crew queried about the availability at several private hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram, but with no positive response. They then took him to SUT Hospital which also denied admission and then back to Azeezia Medical College Hospital at Pooyappally in Kollam covering the entire distance with the victim in the ambulance.
“At first we got confirmation of availability of ventilator there over the phone. When we took the patient there after understanding his financial condition and absence of a bystander to take responsibility for the expenses, they denied care saying his condition was worse,” he said. After nearly eight hours long travel, they took him to the Kollam District Hospital around 6 am, where doctors declared him brought dead.
