GH ambulances on life support

KOCHI:  The Ernakulam General Hospital is once again in the news, all for the wrong reasons.  The hospital, which has a track record of treating the maximum number of patients among the General Hospitals in the state, lacks ambulances to transport patients to the hospital and vice-versa. Among six ambulances in the hospital, only two are in proper working condition. “The rest of the vehicles are in a state of complete wear and tear,” sources said. Most of the ambulances are over eight years old. “As these vehicles are put under constant use, the drivers are left at the receiving end,” they said. Although the hospital can boast of a well-equipped ambulance worth `35 lakh, the vehicle is more or less abandoned on the hospital premises with no money to repair the malfunctioning air-conditioner.  Besides, there are two ‘bulky’ ambulances for the hospital which are not of much help for the patients.“Comparatively, this vehicle is much bigger in size. It does not have the facility to take the patient inside the vehicle along with the stretcher. Hence the patient and the stretcher have to manually placed inside. Worse, the ambulance, despite its huge size, has no room to house other facilities except an oxygen cylinder,” they said.The gigantic ambulances are giving nightmares to the drivers as well. “We respond to all the emergencies promptly. But what if we could not reach the spot on time?” they ask. The drivers say that there were times when they had to wait in the traffic as they could not manoeuvre the big vehicles on the roads.“The public has always been cooperative to make way for the ambulances and quite often we do not have to wait for the signals. But with its much bigger size it is a strenuous task for us to zig zag through the heavy traffic. Hence, ambulances preferably of small size could be the best alternative in cases of emergencies,” they said.Safety comes first when it comes to ambulances. But that too has been risked at times, the drivers said.“There are no periodic inspections. Yet these vehicles are always certified fit by the agencies!” they said.So, for a hospital with only two drivers four small ambulances with all the required facilities would serve the purpose. “We do not need many vehicles. Four is enough. Besides, the hospital has only two drivers on duty at a time,” they said. However, Dr Junaid Rahman, Superintendent of General Hospital, said the hospital has no choice on the type and number of ambulances. The decisions are taken by the Directorate of Health Services in Thiruvananthapuram.