Systematic failure

I was at the Gomti Nagar Railway station today, when I saw a commotion at the platform. As I approached the group of people, I saw a man lying unconscious on the platform and a man performing CPR on him. I asked if the person performing CPR was a doctor but he was not. So I stepped in and saw copious froth from his mouth. His pupils were dilated and non responsive to light. I asked everyone to help me roll him to the side, which is recommended to prevent those secretions getting into his lungs. His pulse was very weak so I asked the policemen to arrange an ambulance immediately. Meanwhile I asked if the railway administration has a first aid kit around or a medical doctor or a paramedic. To my shock, none of that was available. Thankfully, the ambulance was arranged soon and I accompanied the person to the hospital.

Again, to my shock, the ambulance did not have a paramedic, or a suction (to remove the copious froth from his mouth) or nitroglycerin or adrenaline. By the time we entered the emergency ward, his pulse had faded away and his ECG showed a flatline. He was dead.

The reason I can't get over this incident is because I feel his life could have been saved. The death of a young man in Noida is all over the news, how it happened due to systemic failure. Here too, I don't understand why life saving drugs or simple equipment like suction apparatus or a medic/paramedic is not available at either the railway station or inside the ambulance. What can a doctor do with just CPR? I don't know whether it was cardiac arrest or some poisoning. That will only be revealed after post mortem. Regardless, there was a small chance that he could have been saved and the lack of preparedness in public systems to handle such cases is the reason a two year old daughter has lost her father. We need to improve our first response. The west has its problems but at least we can learn the good things from them. Look at how well prepared they are when they are informed about such cases.

Rest in peace, dear stranger. I am sorry that we failed you.