Western Railway’s (WR) efforts to ensure that each station has an emergency medical room (EMR) has hit a major roadblock. Lilavati Hospital, which had won the contract to operate EMRs at Virar, Nallasopara and Vasai Road railway stations, has withdrawn from the project at the last minute.
In a letter dated April 30, the hospital informed WR that it no longer wishes to operate the EMRs, citing “operational” reasons for backing out. It did not elaborate on the specific issues it was facing.
Railway officials are baffled at the move as the hospital had been issued a Letter of Acceptance on March 18, after which a fair amount of ground work had been done. “They had started installing furniture and had also deputed paramedical staff at the stations,” a senior railway official.
A spokesperson from Lilavati Hospital said, “We have decided to pull out of the operations of Emergency Medical Room of Virar, Vasai and Nallasopara due to operational reasons. The decision was taken before the contract was signed.” The hospital, which continues to run an EMR for Central Railway at Dadar, will have to forfeit its earnest money deposit.
Railway officials said they will now have to go through the entire process of issuing a new tender, which will take up valuable time.
The Bombay High Court has directed the railways to set up EMRs at every station to reduce the number of deaths on tracks and provide crucial medical assistance in the ‘golden hour’ after a mishap. On an average, eight people die across the Mumbai suburban network every day. Pursuant to the directive, WR had planned to set up 32 EMRs across its suburban network.
“Regardless of the High Court directive, the idea to set up these rooms was to ensure that there were fewer fatalities. It should be treated as a service,” a senior railway official said.
Under the model, a private contractor is provided space on the railway premises, where he needs to provide a doctor round the clock and treat accident victims for free. In return, the contractor is allowed to consult and treat patients coming from outside the railway premises, collect blood and urine samples for diagnostic tests, and run a pharmacy.
“We have EMRs at Mahim, Lower Parel, Bandra, Khar Road, Andheri, Kandivali, Mira Road, Grant Road, Churchgate and Borivali. Infrastructure for 19 more is under way, and they will be started very soon,” Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, WR, said.
Lilavati Hospital is the latest in a series of contractors pulling out at the last minute. Other healthcare firms have similarly backed out earlier, after expressing interest and winning the contracts to run the EMRs.
A senior railway official said the model has not yet seen success as it requires contractors to have a qualified doctor present at all times. “It means employing at least three doctors for each EMR, which can be quite an ask. Moreover, the consultations are priced at rates decided by the Central government, which makes the venture less lucrative,” the official said.
