Does the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre here have the basic equipment required to immobilise the spinal column of injured sportspersons before they are taken to hospital for specialized care? May be.
Does it have enough doctors to be on duty for up to 13 hours a day? Definitely not.
Sanchita Mondal, a budding gymnast now recovering from severe injuries to her vertebra during a practice session, seems to have been simply put on a stretcher and taken on an ambulance to a private hospital across the road without any cervical collar or any such device used to immobilize the bones to prevent further damage to the spinal nerve.
The 16-year-old Sanchita, a key member of the state squad, was practicing at the SAI centre from 7am on October 5 when she fell badly during a vaulting horse routine at around 7.30am.
When the others present saw she was not moving, they called for medical help. But the SAI doctor’s duty begins at 9.30am.
“I got a call and reached the centre within 10 minutes. Then I called up AMRI Salt Lake, which sent an ambulance,” says Dr Laila Das of SAI, who stays nearby.
She insists that she applied a cervical collar before moving Sanchita.
According to the latest reports, Sanchita’s condition has improved but she is not out of danger. An AMRI official, requesting anonymity, said traction is being given and an operation done. The C-5 and C-6 bones were fractured.
She has started to talk and move her legs, but is still suffering from some sort of paralysis,” the official said.
Did Sanchita have any neck collar when she was brought into the emergency room?
“No comment,” said the AMRI official.
The SAI doctor could not comment on why nobody is clarifying the issue of a neck collar.
“Why is the question of a neck collar being raised? If the collar had not been there, her case would have been much more serious,” she said.
VVSN Rao, SAI director (east), admitted that he does not have enough doctors. “True, SAI doctors were not there when the accident took place, but experts reached the spot soon after,” Rao said.
Did the SAI medical centre have a neck collar? “Why are you asking that?” he asked.
As a fallout of the Sanchita incident, SAI has decided to ensure that a team of doctors is in place during practice sessions in both the first and second half.
Rao said SAI does not have enough doctors to man two shifts. “I am ready to have more doctors and I tried to appoint some from outside. But outsiders want a job, which we cannot provide,” he said.