Life and Death

Just heard awful news. The husband of one of our hospital receptionists was in a motorcycle accident last night -- the victim of a hit-and-run. The deep tragedy (besides this happening at all) is that he was lying on the ground of a busy road for forty-five minutes before anyone was alerted.

And even then, the good samaritan did not call 108 (Hyderabad's 911). Rather, she called the last number dialed: his wife.

Speeding from her house, his wife found him and his motorcycle where he was hit -- and then took him to a nearby hospital. Five minutes later, he was dead from head injuries (no helmet, like 98% of the motorcyclists in Hyderabad). The tragedy, of course, is that this may have been prevented if someone -- ANYONE -- had called 108 as soon as the accident happened.

The crazy thing is that just two days ago, a friend told me about a man who died right on Road #1, near her office. He was dead at least seven hours before being taken away. Her colleague called the ambulance, which never showed up. What's disturbing is that the security guard (as well as many others, I'm sure) saw this man shivering in the night. He described it to my friend, and blamed his death on the monsoons.

It's hard not to judge, or feel like it's a cruel cold place, when people literally see others dying in front of them and not call for help.

In talking to one of my colleagues who used to work in emergency care, I learn of another, more systemic factor that could be contributing to this culture. Apparently up until three years ago, if you called an ambulance to report an accident, YOU the caller would then need to go to the police station and be interrogated as the first witness. Of course, this could take hours, if not all day. While the government has since banned this law, perhaps the after-effects still remain. There's also the perception that ambulances won't come, or that hospitals won't be able to help.

Whatever the reasons, the outcomes created just blow your mind. There has to be a better way.