Passenger Suffers Seizures at Shivaji Nagar Bus Station, Exposing Lack of Medical Aid

A senior citizen suffered seizures inside a BMTC bus at the Shivaji Nagar Bus Station on Sunday, exposing the lack of emergency medical facilities at major transit hubs across Bengaluru and leaving crew members struggling for over 30 minutes to arrange assistance.

The commuter had boarded the bus at Ramamurthy Nagar and bought a ticket to Shivaji Nagar. When the vehicle reached the station, all other passengers alighted while the senior citizen remained inside, unresponsive due to seizures. The crew on the route 300E bus, which was scheduled to proceed towards Banaswadi, struggled to assist him or get him off the vehicle.

According to the bus conductor, Srikanth HY, the departure of the bus was delayed by more than 30 minutes as the crew attempted to handle the emergency. Although Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital is situated close to the bus station and the Commercial Street Police Station is a few hundred metres away, no ambulance or Hoysala patrol vehicle was immediately available in the vicinity. Ambulances usually stationed at the hospital were reportedly engaged in other medical emergencies.

A call placed to the emergency number 112 resulted in police initially advising that the BMTC bus itself be driven directly to the emergency ward of Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. However, the bus driver expressed helplessness in doing so.

Eventually, the driver and conductor managed to assist the passenger off the bus as police personnel arrived at the scene. The commuter was handed over to the care of the police, after which the bus resumed its trip.

A BMTC employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that medical facilities are currently not available at BMTC bus stations across the city, with the exception of the Shanthinagar Bus Station.

Responding to the incident, the BMTC Assistant Traffic Manager for Shivaji Nagar said the bus crew should have transported the passenger directly to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. The official added that BMTC staff need to remain sensitive to passengers requiring urgent medical attention and stated that steps would be taken to educate staff members on protocols during medical emergencies.