Bengaluru's traffic concern for patients, need to make infrastructure sustainable: Doctor who ran to perform surgery

The video of Govind Nandakumar, a gastroenterology surgeon at Manipal Hospital in Sarjapur, running on a road in Bengaluru to be in time for a medical procedure has gone viral on social media.

On August 30, Dr Nandakumar got stuck in traffic on his way to his hospital where a patient was scheduled for an urgent surgery. Seeing that the traffic was stalled, he chose to leave his car and go on foot instead.

Moneycontrol spoke to Dr. Nandakumar on his decision and his views on the city’s traffic problems. Edited excerpts:

The video showing you running to the hospital to operate on a patient is all over the internet. What went through your mind before you decided to run for 3 km?

I was stuck in traffic that day, I had to either sit there and wait or I could get out and try to do something about it. I really wanted to get to the patient and get the surgery done.

A few people asked if this surgery could have been postponed for a few hours… Well, I could have, but the patient would have been uncomfortable. I took a conscious decision after checking Google Maps, since it was a straight stretch, I decided to proceed.

How much time does it take on a normal day for you to reach from the spot where you were stuck to the hospital and what was the situation that day?

From that spot it takes 5-10 minutes to cover the distance to the hospital. On that day, Google was showing 45 minutes and the worrying part was that the time wasn’t reducing, so even after 10 minutes the estimated travel time was the same.

I thankfully had a driver with me and he took another two and half hours to reach the hospital, while I reached in about 20 minutes.

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What was the nature of the surgery you were supposed to perform that day? Was the process already delayed?

I would say that this was a surgery which would be categorised in the category of urgent surgery. The patient was in pain, they were waiting for the surgery to happen and they had planned mentally and emotionally for the surgery.

After that I had other surgeries to perform, which is why I made a conscious decision. It may have been delayed for around 15-30 minutes.

I could have easily waited in the car for three to four hours as some doctors took six hours to reach the hospital that day but what harm is done by moving out and getting the job done?

What was the rationale behind shooting the video while running? Were you advising the staff on the video call while running?

I was wearing my work trousers and running. I was scared that if I kept the mobile in my trouser pocket, it would fall out, so I was holding my phone and running.

@BPACofficial @BSBommai @sarjapurblr @WFRising @blrcitytraffic sometimes better to run to work ! pic.twitter.com/6mdbLdUdi5

— Govind Nandakumar MD (@docgovind) September 10, 2022

I ran for some 15-20 minutes but the video was recorded for only a few seconds because I wanted to show it to my kids, close family and friends to show them the traffic situation in Sarjapur. It was never meant to be shared with the public at large.

How do you think unorganised traffic in a city like Bengaluru poses a threat to the efficient functioning of healthcare system?

There is a real issue with infrastructure and quality of roads in Bengaluru. We have to figure out a way how this city can become sustainable and livable. The bigger concern is for the patient to reach the hospital.

I think a collaborative effort is needed from all the players. It is painful to see a road laid and when it rains again, it is gone. We need to get to the bottom of the issue.