Minister Bhagwat Karad turns doctor! Attends to in-flight medical emergency, PM appreciates gesture

Dr Bhagwat Karad, the Union Minister of State for Finance, attended to an in-flight medical emergency while travelling from Delhi to Mumbai. The Rajya Sabha MP attended to a passenger who suffered vasovagal syncope that leads to fainting.

Dr Karad told The Indian Express that he boarded the IndiGo flight from Delhi at 1.05 AM on Tuesday. Around 2 AM, a cabin crew member asked if there was a doctor on board on the public address system.

He then asked the cabin crew member what the problem was and she said a person needed immediate help.

According to a tweet by one Amit Chavan, the passenger, a hypotension patient, complained of giddiness. The minister of state immediately rushed to his aid upon hearing about the condition.

Our heartfelt gratitude and sincere appreciation towards MoS for ministering to his duties non-stop! @DrBhagwatKarad your voluntary support for helping out a fellow passenger is ever so inspiring. https://t.co/I0tWjNqJXi

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) November 16, 2021

The actions of Dr Karad, a paediatric surgeon, was also appreciated by IndiGo. The low-cost carrier quote tweeted Chavan’s tweet and expressed its gratitude and appreciation to the parliamentarian for discharging his duties non-stop.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted his appreciation for his ministerial colleague from his personal account.

A doctor at heart, always!

Great gesture by my colleague @DrBhagwatKarad. https://t.co/VJIr5WajMH

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 16, 2021

Dr Karad told The Indian Express that he went where the 45-year-old man was lying.

He could not feel his pulse and sensed that he had suffered vasovagal syncome. The man was lying between two rows of seats. Karad then removed his shirt, massaged his chest, and kept his feet on a pillow in an attempt to increase flow of blood to his heart. The person regained consciousness shortly after and was then given glucose water. Dr Karad said he did not have sugar issues or hypertension, and spoke to them after regaining consciousness.

The former Aurangabad mayor studied at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital before joining politics. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a BJP ticket in 2020 and became a minister in July 2021.