More than the death of his wife, it was the fact that she could have been saved that perturbed R.B.S. Kushwaha. "If she had got timely medical aid, probably she would have been alive today," he says.
Kushwaha decided to convert the personal tragedy into a goad for positive action. "I thought I must try to ensure that no one else suffers such a fate in my city," says the 38-year-old lawyer. With fellow advocate Mamta Singh’s help, he started an "On Line Service" to aid accident victims. The service has a simple objective: taking victims to the nearest hospital and looking after them till family or friends arrive.
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The service was inaugurated by the Gwalior zone igp on November 21, 1999. Two phones were installed and their numbers widely publicised through the local media. Kushwaha also bought a Maruti van and converted it into an ambulance. His personal jeep was also donated to the service. All costs are borne by Kushwaha and his associates. "The expenses aren’t much. There’s no need for us to seek donations. We can manage on our own," he says.As soon as they get a call about an accident (volunteers man the phone-lines round-the-clock), a vehicle is dispatched. The victim is taken to the nearest government hospital, which Kushwaha feels "are better equipped to deal with such emergencies".
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The service also tries to ascertain the victim’s identity to inform the family. As people came to know of the service, local businesses have also started lending a hand. Nowadays, chemists give medicines on credit and the necessary tests are performed without immediate payment. "Later, when the victim’s family comes, we ensure that the payments are made. If they are unable to foot the bills, we ourselves make the payment," he says.
Kushwaha feels people nowadays are wary of helping accident victims, apprehending possible legal hassles. There are also other problems, like doctors who refuse to admit victims; and the police who often ask unnecessary questions. Recounting one of his worst experiences, Kushwaha says that once, at around 2 am, they had taken a seriously injured accident victim to a hospital. Apparently, the nurse on duty—the only medical personnel present—refused to do anything. "She just sat there, calmly chewing tobacco." The patient died in another twenty-odd minutes. It was after this that they decided to buy a video camera. "We now record the shifting of the victim to hospital and the hospital staff’s behaviour. We will not spare such carelessness. We will haul them up in courts," the lawyer in him says.
Meanwhile, the service does its bit, holding camps to educate the common people on how to provide first aid to accident victims, what precautions to take while shifting an injured person to hospital and also on their legal rights, vis-a-vis police enquiries. Besides Gwalior, such camps are now being proposed in fifteen other towns and cities in the state.
"We’re nobody. Only God can save anyone’s life," he says, when asked how many lives they have saved till now. "But yes, over the last one year, we ensured timely medical aid to 65 seriously hurt people. All of them are still alive now," he says with pride.
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The service has received bouquets from many quarters. The commanding officer of the crpf group centre at Shivpuri near Gwalior wrote in to profusely thank them for emergency services provided after a truck-bus collusion, which left two crpf officials dead. "I only wish such organisations existed in other parts of the country also," the CO had said in his communique.
For more information, contact On Line Service, Janakganj, Hanuman Chowk, Lashkar, Gwalior. Ph: (0751) 332965, 576222.
