Despite being reprimanded many times by the judiciary for dragging its feet in setting up emergency medical rooms (EMR) at its stations as per a Bombay high court order, the railways has once again come up with a pea-brained gem.

The Western Railways (WR) had been ordered by the HC on November 10 to set up EMRs in its stations so that the injured can receive immediate treatment. However, it seems that the measures it has decided to take will be of little benefit to those seeking emergency medical aid. WR has decided to set up these EMRs in its health unit dispensaries at Churchgate, Mumbai Central and Palghar. However, the dispensaries at Mumbai Central and Churchgate are not anywhere close to the suburban platforms. This means that instead of taking an injured to these EMRs, the railways might as well take them to Nair Hospital in case of Mumbai Central or Bombay Hospital in case of Churchgate as it will take the same amount of time.

"The health unit dispensary is around 700 metres from Mumbai Central station, while Nair Hospital is around 300 metres away from the dispensary. So if someone is injured at Mumbai Central station, why should he be brought to the EMR for preliminary medical aid and waste time in the process? Can't he be taken directly to Nair hospital?" asked a senior official.

The situation at Churchgate is much the same, said bemused officials. The health unit dispensary is on the ground floor of the heritage building -- also called the GLO building -- on the other side of Maharshi Karve Road. "If someone gets injured at Churchgate, is it logical to take him though the subway, across the busy Maharshi Karve Road, and into the EMR at the dispensary? The man can be taken to Bombay Hospital less than a kilometre away in the same time," said an official.

The money that will be pumped into these EMRs at the health unit dispensaries is also raising eyebrows. According to sources, the estimate for medical equipment for each EMR is coming to around Rs 4.5 lakh, with another Rs 1.1 lakh for furniture. "The plan is to make 7 such EMRs across WR's suburban network. This adds to a cost of Rs 39 lakh. The question is, when all these equipments are already available at the health unit dispensaries, why is there a need to spend so much to buy more equipment?" asked another official.

Each EMR will have a doctor, nurse and helper, all on contract and possibly in two shifts. As per current salary structure at WR for contract staff, the doctor is expected to get a monthly remuneration of Rs 55,000, the nurse Rs 20,000 and the helper Rs 10,000.