PM's security claims patient's life
Saurabh Prashar & Shiv Sharma, TNN 4 November 2009, 12:43am IST

CHANDIGARH: VVIP security, always a huge public inconvenience, may have claimed the life of a 32-year-old man who died of kidney failure on Tuesday Fatal Delay? Grieving family members with Sumit Verma's body at PGI.
after being denied entry to the city's premier Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education due to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's security.

A very ill Sumit Verma was taken by his family from Ambala to Chandigarh where he was admitted for dialysis at a private hospital. But when he developed breathing problems, he was rushed to PGI but found most routes leading to the hospital blocked.

Verma's kin alleged that after a two-hour struggle, they managed to wind their way to the hospital gate, but were blocked again by Chandigarh police, manning the outer perimeter of the multi-layered security ring that's thrown around any VVIP venue.

The PM was at PGI for the institute's convocation.

"Uniformed cops stopped our car from entering PGI's main gate, which is located opposite Panjab University campus. We were told to go from the other gate about a kilometre away. It took us a lot of time to get there as traffic was chaotic because of security arrangements," said Aruna, the victim's sister-in-law.

Government sources regretted Verma's death and said PMO had asked for a full report. However, they pointed out that the OPD had remained open during the PM's visit to the institute and 40 patients had been treated between 10 am and 12 pm when the PM was there. Hospital PRO Manju Wadwalkar said Verma was brought dead around noon at the "endstage" of his kidney ailment. She denied hospital facilities had been closed.

While government sources wondered at the Ambala goldsmith being moved in his critical condition without an ambulance, the smothering security of police barricades and being waved down by cops as a cavalcade of siren-blaring cars zooms past are common experience across India. What happened on Tuesday has highlighted the cost that a citizen may have to pay.

Verma had been driven to Chandigarh all the way from Ambala as his kidneys started giving way. He was first taken for dialysis to a private hospital on reaching Chandigarh. But after he developed breathing problems, his family tried to rush him to PGI.

The controversy over the death left the PM embarrassed. Hours after Singh flew back from Chandigarh, an apology was issued by his office and PMO sources expressed their "sadness' over the death of the patient and said "a full report has been asked for." Chandigarh administration also ordered a magisterial inquiry.

Sukhwinder Singh, who drove the car from Ambala, said Sumit was in great pain and in tears by the time they reached the PGI gate. And even when they were allowed in after the fatal wait, there was nobody to help or guide them.

"We mistakenly reached the cardiology department and were stopped there for 10 minutes as PM's caravan had arrived. Then, a security guard was sent to accompany the car to the emergency ward, where doctors declared Sumit 'brought dead'," said Aruna, who was with the body along with Sumit's widow Isha.

Curiously, Chandigarh SSP S S Srivastava had initially said that following a request from Sumit's relatives, the body was released without a postmortem. Later, however, Sukhbir Singh Rana, SHO of Sector 11 police station, clarified that the body would be handed over to Sumit's kin only after the autopsy was done. He added that inquiry officer Ashwani Sharma had recorded statements of driver Sukhwinder Singh and others accompanying him. Another police officer said the tragedy could have been averted if the patient had been sent in an ambulance.

Times View
While important people like the Prime Minister need to be given total security cover, there must be better ways of providing it. It's bad enough when VIP security disrupts traffic on the roads for much longer than needed. But when a city's most important hospital becomes off bounds for patients urgently needing life-saving attention, it is totally unacceptable. If providing security to the PM on campus means disrupting the functioning of the hospital's essential and emergency services, even for a few minutes, the function must be held elsewhere. Ceremonies are not and cannot be more important than saving lives — least of all for a hospital.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/PMs-security-claims-patients-life/articleshow/5194254.cms