Trains operating without critical medical support

No medications or paramedical staff are available to cater to health emergencies of passengers on-board

KARACHI:

While the occasional tension headache associated with a hectic travel journey can be relieved with a soothing cup of tea, railway passengers in Pakistan facing a serious health emergency on-board a train have little hope for relief due to the severe lack of medical facilities on passenger trains operated by Pakistan Railways.

One such passenger was Malik Muhammad Nadeem, a passenger traveling from Lahore to Karachi in the Tezgam Express, who accidentally injured his spinal cord during a fall incident on the train. "During the journey my foot slipped and I fell on my back. Thereafter, I had severe pain in my spinal area but the railway officials did not even have a basic analgesic available let alone a doctor to help relieve my pain," lamented Nadeem, who had to ask a relative in Multan to bring him paracetamol pills at the station before he could finally consult a doctor upon reaching Karachi.

Similarly, Saba Sultana, a woman traveling from Karachi to Faisalabad with her daughter revealed that she suffered from chronic hypertension. "Therefore, I kept the sphygmomanometer with me to monitor my blood pressure during the journey. At one point, the scale shot up to a dangerous level and I realized that I forgot to keep my medication with me. Since the railway officials had no medical facilities on board, I had to ask the passengers for help and luckily a woman happened to have the same medicine that I was prescribed," shared Saba.

According to Manzoor Razi, Chairman of the Railway Workers Union, none of the 18 passenger trains of Pakistan Railways operating across Karachi, Sukkur, Multan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta among other divisions had any medical emergency facility available for passengers on board. "No doctors or paramedical staff are posted in any train. If a passenger falls victim to a medical emergency, there is no facility in the train to give them medical aid. In case, there is a serious medical emergency, then the help of the district administration has to be taken or else the vehicle is stopped at a station and the patient is transferred to the nearest hospital," revealed Razi, who urged the government to depute railway doctors and paramedical staff in the trains alongside providing oxygen and other medical paraphernalia to deal with emergencies.

As per data obtained by The Express Tribune, a total of 97 passenger trains including the Khyber Mail, Tezgam, Karachi Express, Karakoram Express, Khushhal Khan Khattak and other trains are plying across the country's plains, with each train carrying approximately 850 to 900 passengers yet, none of them happen to have any medical facilities available to deal with a health emergency.

"Apart from big railway stations, there is no medical emergency facility for passengers in any small station or passenger train. Pakistan Railways has a complete medical department. If the railway authorities want, doctors and medical staff can be posted in the passenger trains," disclosed Syed Shahid Iqbal, Central Media Coordinator for Pakistan Railways.

Commenting on the matter, Babar Ali, Director of Public Relations and spokesman for Pakistan Railways said, "If there is a medical emergency in a passenger train, the guard has a medical and first aid box. Senior Medical Officer's and medical staff are present at all stations. If the passenger's condition worsens, the train manager or guard sends an emergency message to the nearby major stations. The passenger is immediately checked up by the railway doctors at the mentioned stations and if their condition worsens, they are transferred to the nearest hospital by the railway ambulance and given medical assistance."