THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Many of the ambulances available at Government health centres in the district do not cater to patients due to the absence of drivers or their unwillingness to drive, say activists. The crew members of 108 ambulances say that this puts pressure on their fleet which was primarily meant to attend to accident cases. For instance, the ambulance at Nedumanagaud hospital has not been functioning during the dengue epidemic outbreak. The driver appointed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) has gone on leave citing health issues.
At Kesevapuram Community Health Centre (CHC) near Kilimanoor, a palliative service ambulance, purchased by the block panchayat remains unused. The driver had quit a year ago due to non-payment of salary. At Kuttichal Public Health Centre (PHC), protestors placed a wreath on a defunct ambulance. Several CHCs like those in Poovar do not have an ambulance at all.
Local residents claim that the most of the ambulances in government hospitals ply only between 9am and 5pm.
“If the platelets count of dengue patients drops at night these ambulances do not come in handy. The other day, the platelet count of a patient dropped from 30 to 20 during the short transit from Kazhakkoottam to a private Medical College at Venjaramoodu. It is important to have ambulances ready during the ongoing fever epidemic lest we have to bank on taxis,” said Vishnu D, an activist. As per sources, though multiple ambulances are available at General Hospitals, the drivers appointed by the PSC pass the buck or decline to ply.
“There are five ambulances in Thiruvananthapuram General Hospital (GH) but only one is active most of the time. Several cases are referred to Medical College Hospital and they ring up 108 ambulance. When these patients are dropped at MCH, we are told that patients needn’t have been transported in an ICU ambulance. The drivers at GH simply pass the buck and sit idle,” said one of the pilots of a 108 ambulance. Health Department officials said that it would be a luxury to appoint a full time ambulance driver when there was a paucity of nurses in PHCs.
