Dr KK Aggarwal
& Advocate Ira Gupta
Earlier on
24.08.2018, Hon’ble Chief Justice of Delhi High Court had accepted and had converted
the representation filed by Dr. KK Aggarwal, Padma Shree Awardee and National
President of Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) into Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) on the issue of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator ((hereinafter “AED”) machine in
public places like courts, railways and metro. Notices were issued to Union
Government, Government of NCT of Delhi, Supreme Court Registrar, etc. in the
said PIL.
On Wednesday i.e.
14.11.2018, the said PIL was listed for hearing and all the respondents have
been granted 4 weeks’ time to file their counter affidavits / replies.
HCFI has been
working on the subject of heart care since its inception and regularly conducts
program to train people in essential life saving techniques like hands-only CPR
for revival of patients after sudden cardiac arrest.
HCFI has been
working for the benefit of public at large and to save the lives of thousands
of people who die because of sudden cardiac arrest in absence of cardiac first
aid including CPR and also in absence of non-availability of AED. The
said persons who are dying because of sudden cardiac arrest are sometimes even
not aware that their lives can be saved by cardiac first aid or by taking the
assistance of AED.
Sudden Cardiac
Arrest (SCA) is the number one killer in India, killing approximately 25 lakhs
people every year. As per the data revealed by Delhi Economic Survey about 150
to 250 deaths happen in the city of Delhi every single day and out of these
deaths, 25 to 45 deaths occurred due to SCA.
50% of the patients
can be saved if proper CPR is given on time. However, about 98% of the
country’s population is not trained in CPR.
Many valuable lives
can be saved by giving training to the people in Cardiac First Aid (CFA)
including CPR and also by installing of AED at public places and with further
training given to the staff / employees stationed at such public places /
offices to conduct the CPR and use the facility of Defibrillator in case of any
person suffering from SCA.
An AED is a simple
to use unit based on computer technology, which is designed to analyze the
heart rhythm itself in deciding if electric shock is required to be given to
the patient. They are designed to be used by persons who require little
training to operate them correctly.
An ambulance reaches
the patient in much delayed time who suffered a SCA in a public place. There is
even an acute shortage of cardiac ambulances, which are to be mandatorily
equipped with Defibrillator and because of that several deaths take
place. In the above scenario if public at large is trained in Cardiac
First Aid including CPR and AEDs are installed at public places large number of
invaluable and precious human lives can be saved.
HCFI had noticed
that the people who are visiting such places are under great stress and they
are prone to cardiac arrest and in such places no AED machine is being
installed and in fact the staff of such places are also not well trained in CPR
technique.
In this regard,
HCFI had sent representations dated 6.9.2016 to the office of Hon’ble Prime
Minister of India, Hon’ble Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Hon’ble
Lt. Governor of Delhi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi and also Hon’ble Health
Minster of Govt. of NCT of Delhi. However no concrete steps have been
taken till date and the representations submitted by HCFI remained unanswered.
Earlier in the year
2016 and later in 2018, HCFI had filed various applications under Right to
Information Act to the various courts including Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,
this Hon'ble Court and all the Distt. Courts situated in Delhi and also to the
National Consumer Disputes Redressal commission and State Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission.
HCFI was shocked to
learn that no Defibrillator has been installed in any court of law and moreover
the staff of the respective Hon'ble Courts has also not been trained in Cardiac
First Aid including CPR except the staff of Hon’ble Supreme court of India,
which has been trained in the Cardiac First Aid including CPR.
Also, in the month
of February, 2018, HCFI had sent one RTI application dated 12.02.2018 to Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and one application to Ministry of Railways.
DMRC replied that
there is no dispensary at any metro station, AED machine is not being installed
neither in any metro station nor in any metro train. Only in some metro
stations the pharmacy / chemist shop is available.
In response to the
RTI application sent to Ministry of Railways, HCFI received various replies
from almost all Railway Zones across the country and was shocked to know that
45,160 people have died in last 5 years in 14 zones and 10685 people have died
inside the train.
The fourth-largest railway network in the world by size, with
121,407 kilometres (75,439 mi) of total track over a 67,368-kilometre
(41,861 mi) route and which runs more than 13,000 passenger trains daily,
on both long-distance and suburban routes, from 7,349
stations across India does not even have dispensary and First Aid Medicines.
Even trains do not have First Aid medicines.
As almost 8.26
billion passengers travel by Indian Railways across the country, so it is
imperative for the Indian Railways to have a proper and updated medical and
First Aid facility both inside the trains and also at the railways stations.
On receiving such
shocking data and replies from various courts, railways, metro, HCFI submitted
one representation before the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Delhi High Court
requesting the Hon’ble Court to treat the said representation as Public
Interest Litigation as the same concerns the health and life of the
public at large and to issue relevant directions thereby directing all courts
in the state including Hon’ble Supreme Court, Hon’ble Delhi High Court and all
district courts in Delhi and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
and Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation Limited and Ministry of Railways to:
a. To open a
dispensary in all courts, metro stations and all railway stations and said
dispensaries should function properly.
b. To train all their
staff / employees / security personnel in Cardiac First Aid including Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR)
c. To install
“Automated External Defibrillator” (AED) machines at all relevant and
conspicuous places like all courts, all metro stations, all railway stations,
in all metro trains and in all railway trains.
d. First Aid medicines
for Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) should be available in all courts, metro
stations, all railway stations, in all metro trains and in all railway trains.
e. All Courts, Metro
stations and all railway stations should have a tie-up with ambulance services
for the purposes of emergencies.
f. Doctor should be
available in the working hours at all places.
g. At least one
pharmacy / chemist shop should be available at all courts, all metro stations
and at all railway stations
h. All courts, metro
stations and all railway stations should maintain a data w.r.t deaths taking
place due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President
Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO)
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart Care Foundation of India
Immediate Past National President IMA
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