Bengaluru: The parents of 13-year-old girl, who is battling for life at St Philomena Hospital, after she tried to hang herself at her Viveknagar home, have alleged that they were unable to shift her to Victoria Hospital as no 108 ambulance was available.
The ongoing agitation by ambulance drivers and paramedical staff have affected services.
The mother said the girl attempted suicide around 12 noon on Friday, and was shifted to a nearby hospital, but the doctors recommended that the victim be shifted to a super-specialty hospital.
“We got her to St Philomena Hospital around 12.15 pm on Saturday, but the hospital insisted on payment of '30,000 to treat the victim as it required ventilator support,” she said.
The family tried to call 108 ambulance to shift her to Victoria Hospital. The girl’s mother said the first ambulance came an hour late, but it had no ventilator support.
The authorities told them that another ambulance was being arranged, but it came only by 5.15 pm. “If our child dies, ambulance service should be held responsible,” she said.
“Immediately after patient was rushed here, we began the cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We also did a CT scan. She was brought without pulse. We revived her and insisted that she be moved out to a hospital of their choice in a ventilator supported ambulance," said Dr Shankar Prasad, Medical Director, St Philomena's.
However, S.S. Parvez, Manager of GVK EMRI said the family had called the 108 service around 2.30-3.00 pm and an ambulance was sent to the hospital within 20 minutes .
The family refused to take the service and sought a ventilator supported one. “An ambulance that was taking a patient to Nimhans was later sent to St Phelomena’s,” he said.
