Hospital staff recall horrid night

Mumbai: Nurses Sunanda Chavan, Meena Jadhav, Jayshree Kurdhundkar and Anjali Vijay Kulthe of Cama and Albless Hospital cannot erase the dreadful memories of 26/11 night when the government hospital for women and children fell into the hands of two terrorists for nearly three hours.

For elevator attendant Chandrakant Tikhe, the shrill order from gunman Ajmal Kasab, now facing trial, to open the terrace door rings loudly in his mind, even a year later.

Reflecting on their experiences, they now feel proud and content that their quick and prompt action managed to save all the patients, including women in labour and tiny newborns, during those dreadful hours.

They may not have received accolades or fancy awards but it was a test of their crisis management skills and the hospital staff came out with flying colours. For several days following the attack, many patients and their relatives kept returning to thank the staff, they say.

Mock drills

What certainly helped were the mock drills that the then state health secretary Bhushan Gagrani urged all hospitals to carry out after a terror attack on a civil hospital in Ahmedabad in September 2008, Dr Shobhana Tehra, deputy superintendent of Cama Hospital, told Gulf News.

"We ensured that the staff in three shifts were trained and followed the instructions though at that time we felt that such an attack would be a rare possibility. And when it did happen, we were prepared and could anticipate the dangers that could follow."

Hiding patients in safe places, switching off lights and mobile phones, closing gates to wards, maintaining complete silence, immobilising the telephone line and other instructions were followed to the tee as soon as the terrorists came closer and the shots became louder.

Never thinking of their own safety, the nurses worked like clockwork in implementing their strategy.

Senior nurse Chavan directed all mothers to start nursing their infants to ensure that no baby cried.

Kurdhundkar is still grateful that one mother had "a good delivery" at 10.50pm, when the terrorists were still present in the hospital.

At the time of the attack there were around 200 patients, around 40 newborns, several relatives and staff, though two security guards were shot dead by the terrorist as they rushed to the sixth floor and one relative's throat was slit on the way.

"That experience has made us more alert," says the superintendent. The proposal to provide security by ex-servicemen is still in progress, she says.

The lift attendant was used as bullet shield. The injuries caused by shrapnel still hurt Tikhe, lift attendant cum generator operator, at the Cama and Albless Hospital.

But more than the pain he felt that day, he feels bitter that the authorities failed to reach out to him to provide better medical aid. His efforts, which saved nine hospital employees, also went unnoticed.

The gunmen were walking from CST station where they had killed over 50 innocents. Not being able to enter the well-secured Times of India building's rear entrance, they saw the six-storeyed new wing of Cama Hospital and jumped over a small gate to get in.

Spotted

"From my position, I peeped and Kasab immediately spotted me and shouted that I open the locked terrace door or he would blow me up. He asked me how many were with me and I said it was just me. He then asked whether I was a Hindu or Muslim. When I told him I was a Hindu, he pushed me, stuck his gun on me and removed my mobile, which I never got back from the police."

They wanted him to lead them out of the hospital. It was just then that Additional Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date and five constables were coming up.

"I whispered in Marathi that I was a ‘karmachari' (employee). ‘Don't shoot me,' I told them and gestured the two gunmen were behind me. He signalled [to] me to duck when they fired."

A fierce gun battle ensued for the next 45 minutes. How the two gunmen escaped is still not clear. The damage caused by grenades has been repaired but it took some time to wipe away the blood stains. The lift doors and walls are still riddled with bullets, a grim reminder of that nightmare.