New Delhi: A viral video shared by the Railway Minister and the Ministry shows a Travelling Ticket Examiner performing CPR on a 70-year-old passenger aboard a train. The passenger was reportedly conscious during the incident. This video has sparked intense debate on social media, with some praising the TTE's quick thinking, while many others criticised the examiner for ignoring proper medical protocols.
The incident occurred in the general coach of train number 15708, Amarpali Express, where an elderly passenger reportedly suffered a heart attack and required medical attention. The Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) stepped in and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to save the passenger.
"TTE's alertness gave a new lease of life to the passenger. While travelling in the general coach of train number 15708 Amrapali Express, a 70-year-old passenger suffered a heart attack. The TTE deployed there immediately performed CPR and saved the life of the passenger. The passenger was later sent to a hospital at Chhapra railway station," the post shared by the official page of the Ministry of Railways read.
The same video was shared by the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw "Our dedicated Indian Railways’ team(sic)."
In reply to the same post, the Minister wrote: "CPR should be stopped when a person becomes conscious or follows commands, which are signs of return of spontaneous circulation(sic)."
CPR should be stopped when a person becomes conscious or follows commands, which are signs of return of spontaneous circulation.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) November 25, 2024
The gesture that was intended to receive praise has attracted significant criticism online. Doctors have pointed out that the Minister and his Ministry is spreading misinformation, as CPR should not be performed on a conscious person. They urged the Ministry to remove the video clip from social media, as it may lead people to misunderstand proper CPR techniques.
A hepatologist from Kerala took to social media to criticise the Railway Minister for lacking medical science literacy and urged the minister to delete a specific post. "Dear Railways Minister, it is imperative that you delete this post. It showcases your lack of understanding of medical science and the utter lack of basic health literacy among the railway team currently working under you," the post by Cyriac Abby Philips aka @theliverdr read.
He further informed and made people aware of the correct techniques and measures that need to be kept in mind before performing CPR on anyone.
Before starting CPR, check
- Is the environment safe for the person?
- Is the person conscious or not conscious?
- If the person appears to be not conscious, tap or shake their shoulder and ask loudly, "Are you OK?"
- If the person doesn't respond and you're with someone else who can help, have one person call the local emergency number and get an automated external defibrillator (AED) if one is available.
- Please note, start CPR only on an unconscious patient
He also added, "Also, he stole a kiss from the passenger without his consent, in the name of "treatment." He should be booked for a criminal offence. Is this some kind of fetish from your staff? In India, kissing someone without consent would be considered a crime under the law of sexual harassment, specifically falling under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC, now BNS), essentially, any non-consensual physical contact, including a kiss, can be considered sexual assault and is punishable by law."
After the Minister replied to his yesterday's video on Monday, the medical professionals in the post's timeline explained the contradiction in the minister's response and the video. One wrote: "This video is misleading. -video seems to promote CPR in conscious patients. -Many will attempt CPR in conscious patients citing your video. So stop promoting it. I request you to delete it(sic)."
"Your railway employee was giving CPR to a conscious patient and that too, in the wrong manner. The patient was not unconscious to begin with. He was fully conscious and looking at his torturer. And worse, the railway employee lip-locked the patient when fully conscious for a supposed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation effort, when the patient was awake and conversing(sic)," another wrote.
