A woman injured in a road accident in Labasa on Monday is expressing her dissatisfaction with the medical treatment she received.
Aruna Devi, 55, who was traveling with her granddaughter in a shipping company bus that collided with a sugarcane truck in Seaqaqa, Macuata, claims that the emergency response after the accident was inadequate. Devi, a mother of four, was among five passengers injured in the incident. She believes that she and the other injured individuals should have been prioritized for immediate medical attention to address their bleeding and pain.
“The nurse at the Seaqaqa Health Centre told us to wait for the doctor to arrive before we could be seen for treatment,” she stated. “I was in severe pain, along with the other passengers, and had to wait at the health center with blood dripping from my mouth for at least an hour.”
Eventually, she was transferred to Nasea Health Centre for further treatment, where she was asked to get a ticket and wait in line to be seen, following standard procedures. Devi voiced her concern that common sense should have dictated that nurses take them directly into the emergency department for urgent care.
Recognizing the delay, she opted to hire a taxi and went to Labasa Divisional Hospital to have her mouth treated for the cuts she sustained.
Attempts to reach Divisional Medical Officer Northern, Dr. Tiko Saumalua, for comments were unsuccessful.
As for the shipping company, Devi noted that she had no issues with them or their driver, as she believed the accident was not the driver’s fault. A resident of Coqeloa Labasa, she had booked a flight to Suva after the accident. “I am still shaken from the incident and won’t be traveling by ferry anytime soon; I will prefer flights,” she said.
Divisional Police Commander North, Senior Superintendent of Police Kemueli Baledrokadroka, confirmed that a report of the accident was received on Monday.