Visas wait could soon be over for parents of critically injured care worker
The parents of a critically injured care worker are facing an agonising wait in a desperate bid to get visas in order to be by her bedside. Preeti Dhunna, 30, suffered a brain injury, and a broken pelvis and ankle in an incident in Salford. Preeti, 30, was hit by a car as she crossed a road to catch a bus.
She was in an induced coma for several days at Salford[1] Royal Hospital following the crash on Cromwell Road on December 23rd. The driver of the vehicle involved, a 27-year-old man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drug driving offences. He has since been bailed.
Preeti's family are desperately trying to cut through protocol so her parents can get visas and fly from India to be with her. Speaking today, Ms Dhunna's brother, Nikhil Dhunna, said he had been warned a backlog of applications could delay his parents getting visas.
Preeti Dhunna, 30, pictured in intensive care in Salford Royal hospital after being knocked down on Cromwell Road, Salford, on December 23 (Image: Family handout)"I received an email this morning from the visa application centre saying that the application 'has not been straightforward' and there could be delays. I don't understand why.
I have provided a letter from Salford Royal explaining Preeti's condition, had help from Graham Stringer MP, and sent coverage of the incident from the Manchester Evening News. I have already spent about GBP350 on the process of getting the visas." The email he received today from the UK Visa Decision Making Centre says: "Thank you for applying for a UK visa.
Your visa application has been received and is under consideration. "Unfortunately your application has not been straightforward and it will therefore take longer to process, we are unable to provide a time scale as to when individual applications will be concluded. We are continuing to work on your application and aim to make a decision as soon as possible.
We will write to you again if there is any change to this." A further email says the centre aims to process priority visa applications within five working days of biometric submission, but warns: "Please be aware that due to extremely high demand, standard UK visitor visas are taking significantly longer than usual to be processed by UK Visas and Immigration, you should bear this in mind when making any bookings. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience to all affected customers and we are working hard to bring our service standards back to process all applications as soon as possible."
A Home Office spokesman said: "All visa applications are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the Immigration Rules. It is longstanding government policy that we do not routinely comment on individual cases." The Manchester Evening News understands both Mr and Mrs Kumar's applications have been concluded and the applicants will be notified direct when their documents are available for collection in India - but it is not clear when that will be.
Police at the scene of the incident in Salford which left Preeti Dhunna in a coma.Picture by Ryan Jenkinson
(Image: Ryan Jenkinson | Manchester Evening News)Preeti's mother, Ranji, and father, Sukhwinder Kumar, have been dealt the devastating blow of their daughter's injuries while coping with another family crisis. "My dad has had bladder cancer but has received treatment for it. My worry is that he is so upset by this, crying, sobbing, it will hinder his recovery," said Nikhil. "Our parents live in the Punjab in northern India.
My dad is 60 and my mum 54, they are okay to travel and desperate to be with Preeti. They travelled for three hours from their village to a visa application centre in India but we are still waiting for their visas." Preeti works in a care home looking after dementia patients.
She was in the process of moving home from Cheetham Hill[2] to Salford when the incident happened. She was wheeling an empty luggage bag across the road. Nikhil, said: "Preeti has been moved to a trauma assessment ward, still within the intensive care unit.
She is out of the coma and talking. She is making progress which is good but as she suffered a brian injury there are things she has forgotten. "The doctors have told us it could be months and a slow process before she recovers.
She does not remember anything of the incident. She suffered a bleed on the brain." In a statement on Christmas[3] Eve, GMP said Preeti was taken to hospital with 'potentially life-changing' injuries after the crash involving a black Volkswagen Golf R.
Officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit appealed for witnesses or anyone with dashcam, mobile, CCTV or doorbell camera footage to come forward.
Information can be shared calling 0161 856 4741 quoting incident number 2269 of 23/12/2023.
You can also make a report via the website www.gmp.police.uk[4].
References
- ^ Salford (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ Cheetham Hill (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ Christmas (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ www.gmp.police.uk (www.gmp.police.uk)