Caught in jam for one hour, heart patient dies
“I was helpless as I saw my husband die in front of my eyes. We were only 10 minutes away from the hospital when the traffic was stopped for VIP movement. What was his fault?” asked Manju Jain, wife of Anil Jain, 45, who died on Sunday night after the ambulance carrying him was stuck in a traffic jam, after the road to the hospital was blocked to make way for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s motorcade.
“I was helpless as I saw my husband die in front of my eyes. We were only 10 minutes away from the hospital when the traffic was stopped for VIP movement. What was his fault?” asked Manju Jain, wife of Anil Jain, 45, who died on Sunday night after the ambulance carrying him was stuck in a traffic jam, after the road to the hospital was blocked to make way for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s motorcade.
The incident took place when Jain could not be provided medical help on time, due to an hour-long backlog on Raj Ghat.
Jain was returning from a family function in Tri Nagar when he complained of chest pain at the Shastri Nagar metro station, around 4.15pm.
“We were in the Metro when he experienced chest pain. We took him to a nursing home near our house,” said Deepak Jain, the victim’s son.
“Then they said that he needs to be shifted to GTB hospital. But since GTB hospital did not have a pacemaker, we were asked to shift him to GB Pant Hospital,” he added.
The family alleged after they left the GTB Hospital at 6.30pm, they encountered a huge traffic jam at Raj Ghat.
“Despite calls to the police, no one turned up for help. We called the PCR twice — first at 7.10pm and then again at 7.50pm,” said Manish Nigam, the victim’s relative.
“I have lost my father but I want to ensure this is not repeated,” said Deepak. The police said they have ordered an enquiry and the
traffic was stopped due to routine security procedures.
The police said the family only called at 7.50 pm and by that time the traffic had been cleared. “We do not have the facility to implant pacemakers and suggested that the patient be taken to the GB Pant hospital,” said Dr UC Verma, medical superintendent, GTB Hospital.
The family then rushed the patient to the emergency ward of Lok Nayak hospital, so that they could be referred to GB Pant. “According to our staff, the patient was dead by the time he was brought here,” said Dr Amit Banerjee, medical superintendent, Lok Nayak Hospital.