Degrees of Injuries Needed Urgent Attention

Times of India
13 March, 2010
By Umesh Isalkar
Pune, India

The bomb blast that ripped through German Bakery on February 13 claimed 17 lives. While nine people died the same day, eight others succumbed later. Four patients are being treated at the Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital.

“Fifty–five people sustained injuries in the terror strike. Of these, 39 people, who sustained lacerated wounds, fractures and minor burns, were given treatment and discharged. The other 16 sought treatment in the out–patient departments and were discharged after receiving first aid,” resident district collector Anil Pawar told TOI on Friday.

The nature of injuries sustained by the 55 injured were mainly caused either by shrapnel, fractures, lacerated wounds and burns caused due to the heat and the fire, said Arun Jamkar, dean of the Sassoon General Hospital.

“Amputation of lower limbs, severe burns to the hands and face and complete mutilation of fingers, legs and hands were seen among a few of the injured who later succumbed to their injuries,” he added.

Recalling how medical services immediately into action, George Eapen, CEO of Jehangir Hospital, said, “We received a call on our emergency service number, 1066, from the blast site. All the ambulances were pressed into service to bring the blast victims to the hospital. Since the ambulances were fully equipped and manned by doctors well–trained for emergencies, they could attend to the victims immediately.”

The emergency team at the hospitals where the injured were rushed went on alert and the hospital managements asked the main consultants to be present to meet the rush of patients, Jamkar, dean of Sassoon hospital, said. “Jehangir hospital treated 18 patients, of whom three died due to serious burns and other complications,” Eapen said.

The medical team at Jehangir hospital was honoured by the Lions Club of Pune Metro for having done an outstanding job of treating the blast victims, he pointed out.

The Ruby Hall Clinic received 11 patients, of which 2 were Iranians and the remaining were Indians. “The first patient arrived at Ruby Hall Clinic at 7.15 pm that day. After taking the case history from him, we came to know about the blast and its intensity. That’s when we called our hospital disaster team,” Kiran Borude, casualty incharge of the Ruby Hall Clinic, said.

Some relatives of the Iranian patients had difficulty communicating with the hospital staff as they did not speak any English. “That’s where my 13 years of work experience in Dubai came in handy. I spoke to them in Arabic and told them that they are in safe hands,” added Borude.

The Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital, located just a km from German Bakery, received some 35 patients the day of the blast. Of these, eight were in critical and had to be admitted to the ICU.

“Of them, we lost three,” said Asha Relwani, medical superintendent of Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital. But the hospital also succeeded in moving four patients from the ICU to the general ward. “All of them are out of danger. Their condition is stable. They need hospitalisation for two more weeks,” he added.

The four who have been shifted out of the ICU of the Inalks and Budhrani hospital are Amrapali Chavan (32), Dipak Bajaj (20), Sumit Singh (23) and Zala (40).