Monday, July 17, 2006

Hats off to the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff of Mumbai

The doctors, nurses and other staff-members at hospitals and nursing-homes in Mumbai did a phenomenal job in working round the clock to take care of the situation that arose after Islamic terrorists carried out bomb attacks on Mumbai trains killing over 200 and severely injuring over 700 innocent Indians.

The people of Mumbai commendably came forward in large numbers to donate blood. None of the hospitals or nursing homes had any blood shortage, and indeed, many had to turn away potential donors because they had excess capacity.

The people of Mumbai, with the exception of the taxi-drivers of Munbai, who fleeced passengers in the time of crisis, have done a phenomenal job of keeping the city on its feet after these latest horrific attacks.

However, it is important for Mumbaikars in particular, and Indians in general, to remember that it would be dangerous to allow ourselves to return to "normalcy", forgetting these latest terrorist outrages like we had forgotten the several hundred more that happened before it: most recently in Ayodhya, Ghatkopar, Nagpur, Varanasi, Delhi, Srinagar, etc.

We must keep these terror attacks fresh in mind so that our doddering foolish Caste/Religious/Linguistic-Vote-Banking "leaders" are not able to avoid taking any steps against terrorists, and to prevent future terror attacks.

In the past, they have never taken any effective action on either front, assuming that we the people would forget about new terror attacks just as soon as we had forgotten the ones that occurred before it.

This only leads to us suffering more and more attacks, as our enemies know that we will never remember them long enough to take any retaliatory action.

That's the only reason Pakistan coolly allows Osama bin Laden, Dawood Ibrahim, Maulana Masood Azhar, and the rest of the Al Qaeda, LeT, JeM, Hizbul Mujahideen, and the rest to sit in Islamabad and plot attacks against foreign countries like India, Afghanistan, USA, etc, with India bearing the brunt of these attacks.

Rediff reports:
Doctors refuse to take credit for blast duty

A Ganesh Nadar in Mumbai | July 17, 2006 14:54 IST

July 14, 2006. A board outside the Sion Hospital in northcentral Mumbai informs us, 'There is enough stock of blood, blood donors please leave your contact number with the hospital.'

On July 11, just after seven bombs ripped through seven trains on the Western Railway, an appeal had been made for blood. The citizens of Mumbai had come forward so willingly that the hospital has had to turn likely donors away.

In the hospital compound a crowd of people wait to visit the patients. Inside the wards where the victims of the blasts are being looked after, everything looks clean. Obviously the wards have been spruced up for the prime minister's visit.

Doctors, nurses, ward staff and resident doctors at the hospital worked round the clock to save the victims. None of them is willing to take credit.

Most people who visited the hospital after July 11 were impressed with the care the hospital provided, a welcome change from the horror stories one hears about government or municipal hospitals (the Sion Hospital is a municipal hospital).

The staff need permission from the dean to speak to this correspondent, permission that is not forthcoming. Says Dr M E Yeolekar, the hospital dean, "You people (the media) will make heroes of five or six people, which is not fair to the rest."

Dr Yeolekar insists that since it is a team effort, everyone should get credit. As doctors, he says, it is their duty to serve the legitimate demands of the patients; it wasn't an option.

For the last three days it has been a well coordinated and multi-disciplinary effort, he points out. General surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, vascular surgeons, anaesthetists, doctors, nurses, laboratory, ward and security staff worked together, round the clock.

The first challenge was to look after the injured. Then the medical teams had to ensure that relatives and friends of the victims remained calm while the doctors and staff went about their duties.

In all, there were 41 dead bodies in this hospital, including those that had arrived dead and those who the hospital could not save. One body has not been claimed yet.

Sixty-four patients had been admitted with injuries, 40 had been discharged. On Friday there were 21 patients still receiving treatment at the hospital, including three in the Intensive Care Unit.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who visited the hospital on Friday afternoon, met all 21 patients. He also visited the trauma ward and the casualty centre, complimenting the hospital staff and commending the victims on their willpower and strength.



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