How do you seek medical treatment?

[Trigger Warning: The following content contains information on physical violence which some readers may find disturbing.]

The medical process for the treatment of acid attack survivors is:

Step 1: First Steps and Immediate Treatment

The survivor should be rushed to the nearest hospital to receive immediate medical treatment. The treatment must be provided free of cost. First aid must be administered and the survivor needs to be stabilized. Legal action can be taken against any hospital that refuses to provide medical assistance to the survivor. ¹

Step 2: Medical Treatment of Survivor

Once the survivor has received primary treatment, they may then either be shifted to a specialized hospital for further treatment or treated in that same hospital, if they have the facilities to do so.

Step 3: Medical Certificate for Survivor

The hospital where the survivor is first treated should provide the individual with a certificate stating that the person is a survivor of an acid attack. This certificate may be used for treatment and reconstructive surgeries or any other state government or Union Territory schemes that the person may wish to avail of.  ² Further, it must be attached to the application for claiming compensation under the Victims Compensation Scheme.

1. Section 357C, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.[↩]
2. Laxmi v Union of India and Others, (2016) 3 SCC 669, order dated 10/4/2015 [37].[↩]