Readers’ Forum
19 February 2014
Medical negligence
Every day we hear of deaths in road accidents. It does not surprise us. The other day, seven children were killed in the district of Jessore when the bus carrying them with other children plunged into a roadside ditch. We do not know whether the children received proper treatment and whether the driver responsible for the deaths would be recompensed.
The injured passengers and pedestrians are generally admitted into the government hospitals. Sometimes for getting quick treatment, they are admitted into the nearby clinics and private hospitals. But the doctors refer them to the government hospitals as quick as possible without giving any treatment at all and without artificial breathing arrangement. Consequently, many patients die on way to the hospitals and those who do not die suffer terrible pains. This is nothing but sheer medical negligence.
If a seriously injured passenger or man is referred to any medical college hospital from a distance of over 50 miles without artificial inhalation arrangement, it is impossible for the patient to survive. He or she will suffer appalling pain all the way and finally will breath his/her last. The doctors should be more caring. We try to finish our responsibility blaming the drivers of private cars, microbuses, buses and trucks for road accidents, but we do not hold ourselves responsible for careless walking by roads and highways, roadside haats and bazaars, rickshaw pullers' indifference to traffic discipline and politicalisation of trade union. The laws are not evenly enforced or applied. Moreover, there are loopholes in the laws.
There is no doubt that the transport drivers are more responsible. They gossip with others in cell phone, unnecessarily try to overtake other transports and drive somnolent.
At present, I have no statistics of how many people die in road accident every year, how many become crippled, how many families vanish into poverty and future of how many family members wail and blubber. But for sure, the figures will be several thousands annually.
As such, may we request the government to be careful about making new law to punish the guilty for deaths in road accident? And the provisions of laws must be applied equally and none should be harassed unnecessarily.
Ameer Hamzah
South Goran,
Dhaka
