PMC staffer dies after alleged delay in medical care

PMC staff claim ambulance stationed at premises had no doctor on board and is ill-equipped to deal with cardiac emergency

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is facing fresh outrage after two staffers suffered heart attacks inside its main building on Monday, one of whom died at a private hospital four hours later. In both cases, the civic ambulance stationed at the premises had no doctor on board apart from being ill-equipped to deal with a cardiac emergency.

PMC staff claim ambulance stationed at premises had no doctor on board and is ill-equipped to deal with cardiac emergency. (HT)

At around 11.30 am, Ashok Walke, 58, a constable with the road department, collapsed after a heart attack. Municipal doctors administered basic treatment before shifting him to a private hospital, where he died four hours later. At 3.30 pm, Chhaya Suryavanshi from the accounts department also suffered a cardiac episode. She was rushed to a hospital and is fortunately stable now.

These incidents have revived longstanding employee complaints about the lack of a full-time cardiac ambulance and medical staff at the headquarters, which sees a constant flow of officials, visitors and citizens. The ambulance parked inside the PMC building is not cardiac-equipped and operates without a doctor whereas the headquarters needs at least a small health centre with emergency care, staff have repeatedly said.

Neither is this the first time that the PMC has been pulled up over the absence of basic emergency support. Back in January 2022, both a corporator and a staffer required urgent medical help when no ambulance was available, prompting the civic body to keep at its premises an ambulance with an attendant and a driver between 10 am and 6 pm on weekdays. The move came after Shiv Sena corporator Prithveeraj Sutar pushed for onsite emergency services due to heavy footfalls at the building. Then in December 2022, staffer Dhondu Bhokte suffered a stroke and had to be carried down the stairs wrapped in a curtain as there was no stretcher available. Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Varsha Sathe too collapsed, once again highlighting the lack of emergency infrastructure.

Despite years of complaints and government norms mandating emergency medical facilities in government offices, the PMC is yet to provide a fully equipped ambulance and trained medical staff at its main building — a facility employees claim is essential not only for staff but also for thousands of citizens who visit the headquarters daily.

After Monday’s incident however, municipal commissioner Naval Kishor Ram has said, “We will set up a comprehensive facility at the PMC main building for prompt medical service.”