The 24/7 emergency medical rooms (EMRs), which opened at select local stations in May this year, and provides free treatment to rail accident victims, will now be a permanent fixture at most stations on the Western and Central lines
Just when we thought everything was going wrong with the Railways, here's some news that could put commuters at ease. The 24/7 emergency medical rooms (EMRs), which opened at select local stations in May this year, and provides free treatment to rail accident victims, will now be a permanent fixture at most stations on the Western and Central lines.
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EMRs provide free treatment to rail accident victims
While Central Railway (CR) has announced that it would be doubling the number of EMRs by January 2018, Western Railway (WR) said it has decided to open EMRs at 32 of its 36 stations with paramedics by early 2018. Given an average of 10 people dying daily while commuting on the over-crowded local trains, and an equal number getting injured, the EMR has proved to be a boon in saving a patient's life during the crucial golden hour period.
EMRs provide free treatment to rail accident victims
Since the EMRs - popularly known as one rupee clinics - first opened at CR stations this year, over 25,000 commuters have visited them, and 200 accident cases have been treated, a railway official said. Most accident cases were treated at stations like Dadar, Wadala, Mulund, Ghatkopar and Thane that see highest footfall. "There are presently 10 EMRs on CR and given their success, we will be opening 14 more within a month and another four soon after that. This will take the total number of EMRs to 28. We have been working on putting the process in place. The new EMRs should open by January 2018," a top official said.
Mumbai CSMT, Kurla, LTT and Byculla are among the stations that have been shortlisted for the EMRs. The clinics at CR stations are currently being managed by the Railways with the help of NGO Magicdil. While the EMRs provide free, timely medical assistance to rail accident victims, commoners with minor health issues can also visit the clinic and receive treatment for as low as Rs 1. "When we learned about the railways' project on EMRs, we offered them our plan and it clicked. They helped us with the required infrastructure to build these clinics," said Rahul Ghule of Magicdil. DK Sharma, general manager, CR, has also written to the public health department, requesting them to deploy ambulances at 30 more stations.
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