If pool had an ambulance, 73-year-old ‘would have lived’, say swimmers

Swimmers carry man on stretcher to nursing home, then take an auto to hospital, but all in vain, as he dies because of delay in medical aid

Despite multiple accidents, as highlighted by mid-day time and again, the BMC has failed to keep an ambulance on standby at its Chembur swimming pool. Had there been one, the life of a 73-year-old could have been saved on Tuesday morning, said members. Bharat Raj suffered a heart attack after swimming, following which he was carried on a stretcher to a nursing home and then to a hospital in an auto. He was declared dead within minutes of admission, they added.

This is the second death of an elderly person since April, said the aggrieved members of General Arunkumar Vaidya Swimming Pool in Chembur. “The adamant babus are unwilling to listen to our request to station an ambulance at every swimming pool in the city,” they added. Raj arrived at the pool at 8 am and suffered a heart attack at 8.45 am, the members said. “We (the members) brought a stretcher and rushed him to a nearby nursing home,” a friend of Raj told mid-day.

The General Arunkumar Vaidya Swimming Pool in Chembur

“Since the nursing home did not have the required medical equipment to treat Raj, we hired an auto-rickshaw to go to the hospital, because there was no ambulance.  However, within a few minutes of getting admitted, he was declared dead. He could not get treatment on time. Had there been an ambulance and doctors at the Chembur swimming pool, Raj could have been saved,” said the friend.

Also Read: Mumbai: Summer’s here, but not enough pools to dip in

Threat to protest

Following his death, the members wrote to Deputy Municipal Commissioner Kishor Gandhi, warning of a protest at the Chembur pool this Sunday if their request is ignored any further. They want an ambulance, a doctor, a first-aid kit and other medical equipment at the facility with immediate effect. “Why is the BMC not providing this crucial facility, which is important to save lives in emergencies? 

At the swimming pool at Shivaji Park in Dadar, the life of a 17-year-old boy, who slipped in the pool accidentally, was saved because there was an ambulance there,” said a member. “We have vowed to protest at the Chembur swimming pool this Sunday against the BMC, if they do not meet our demands. People are dying, but they are not bothered to listen to us,” the member added.

‘Saving cost’

“Civic officials always say that deployment of a doctor and an ambulance would cost the BMC too much, but they must know that the municipal corporation is not a profit-making organisation. Their priority must be the safety of citizens, not appeasing their bosses with high revenue,” said the member. The members have sent a letter to BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, former local corporator Ashatai Marathe, Lok Sabha MP Manoj Kotak, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Aakansha Deshmukh, the manager of the Chembur pool, told mid-day, “Bharat Raj suffered a heart attack after coming out of the pool. Raj had a chat with his friends and then went to drink water. It was then that he suffered a heart attack.  We rushed him to a nursing home opposite the pool and later, he was shifted to a hospital. He was breathing when we took him to the hospital. He died during treatment.” mid-day contacted the BMC administration for comment, but didn’t get a response.

The accidents at Chembur pool

Renuka Koli: In April, the elderly woman suffered a heart attack and fell unconscious at the pool. In the absence of an ambulance, the pool members carried  her outside to hire an auto and rushed to a hospital. But Renuka Koli died before being admitted to hospital.  

Nabi Shaikh: On February 26, Ghatkopar resident Abdul Nabi  Shaikh, 53, was seriously injured after a man dived in the pool and landed right on top of him. He got 26 stitches on his  head. The Chembur pool staff and the hospital didn’t inform the police about the incident. On May 10, Shaikh submitted a written complaint to the Chembur police and the BMC to file an FIR.

4 April
Day a woman died after a heart attack here

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