Vikramaditya
Port Blair, Mar 03: A recent incident involving a critically ill tourist has brought attention to the need for specialized physicians in Andaman and Nicobar hospitals. The tourist, Mr. Swapan Kumar Mukherjee, became seriously ill due to a brain stroke on January 30, 2023, while visiting the islands with his wife.
Mr. Mukherjee was immediately admitted to GB Pant Hospital in Port Blair and was placed in the ICU with oxygen support. However, the attending physician advised that he be taken to the mainland for treatment, as the critical illness could not be treated at the government hospital in Port Blair. The patient had to travel on a stretcher with oxygen support, but Air India refused to carry him since they did not have oxygen facilities on their aircraft.
Despite several requests from different sources, a travelling ticket for the patient with a stretcher was issued conditionally on February 3, 2023, with the condition that the patient would be in a condition to travel without oxygen support. Luckily, on the day of travel, February 4, 2023, the patient’s condition had improved enough that he was able to travel without oxygen support. Mr. Mukherjee finally received treatment in Chennai, but the ticket cost for the journey was Rs. 2,41,493/-.
The incident has raised several questions regarding the provision of medical care in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. MP Abdul Rasheed, a social worker, has written to the Chief Secretary of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration advocating for the inclusion of specialized physicians in government hospitals and affordable charges for aeromedical evacuation.
In his letter, Rasheed noted that remote island communities should not be deprived of adequate medical care, and that the administration should provide directives to all airlines operating between the Andaman and mainland sectors for the provision of necessary facilities for aeromedical evacuation. He also suggested that the administration should consider fixing affordable charges for aeromedical evacuation, so that poor people on remote islands can save their lives.
Rasheed further proposed that islanders in Andaman and Nicobar should be facilitated with special provisions for critically ill patients, which are not available in government hospitals on the islands, to be included in the Ayushman Bharat Scheme for cost-free treatment in specialized hospitals on the mainland. He also suggested that cost subsidies for aeromedical evacuation should be arranged for those who are financially weaker.
The incident has highlighted the need for specialized medical care in remote island communities, and it is hoped that the Andaman and Nicobar Administration will take appropriate action to address the issue.
