Under the first phase, the clinics will be set up at major stations like Andheri, Churchgate, Mumbai Central and Bandra, and will slowly expand to all 24 stations on the Western Railway line.
For commuters travelling on Mumbai’s Western line, cost-effective ‘one rupee clinic’ will soon open up at 10 railway stations by the end of this month.
Eight such clinics already set up at the Central and Harbour line stations have had a startling 17,000 visitors within the short duration of three months. The first-of-its-kind clinic was opened at Ghatkopar railway station on May 10, 2017.
What is one rupee clinic?
These clinics provide emergency medical assistance to rail accident victims as well as common commuters at a meagre price of Re 1.
The move came in after the Bombay HC ordered the Railways to set up emergency medical rooms (EMR) at all stations on the Central and Western line in a phased manner. This was after a PIL was filed in March by rail activist, Samir Zaveri, on the issue of lack of prompt medical help in case of accidents on railway tracks.
The stations chosen to get the clinics were the ones that witness the most number of accidents. The 24×7 clinics have a team of 3 to 4 MBBS doctors, who provide consultation, check blood pressure and blood sugar level at a token charge of Re 1.
According to Dr. Ghule, the main aim of these clinics is to save the victim within the golden hour of the accident. “During railway accident, victim needs immediate medical assistance, thus, we have all necessary equipment,life-saving tools and medicines, including ECG machines, ambu bags, pulse-oxymeter, oxygen cylinders, etc.” he said.
Article source: TheBetterIndia.com
