Getting ambulance for Covid patients a struggle, lament Lucknowites

LUCKNOW Getting an ambulance for a Covid patient requires a VVIP’s recommendation

LUCKNOW Getting an ambulance for a Covid patient requires a VVIP’s recommendation. Ambulances are taking 4 to 12 hours to pick up patients, especially during night hours and in such a situation a number of patients have to be ferried in private ambulances for admission to hospitals, lament citizens.

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“Getting a referral and ambulance for a Covid patient is even more difficult,” said Ashutosh Kumar, an engineer in the irrigation department, who admitted his brother to a hospital for Covid treatment.

“The entire process is so difficult and highly centralised that the attendants of patients have to run from pillar to post to get admission to any hospital. Patients and attendants have no say in the entire process and are at the mercy of officials,” he said.

Kumar added, “If you don’t have a source in the CMO office, you will not get a referral letter. Then you will be asked to wait for an ambulance.”

“My brother, Paritosh Kumar, was declared Covid positive. After his condition deteriorated on April 2, we called the CMO helpline. I was told that the name of my brother figures on a later number, so his referral would be issued in that order. But I rushed to the CMO office and managed the referral but the ambulance was still out of reach. I was told that the ambulance would take another three hours to take the patient to hospital. So I hired a private ambulance to reach Era hospital,” said Kumar.

“If they cannot provide an ambulance promptly, they must give us the numbers of private ambulance operators so that lives could be saved,” added Kumar.

An office-bearer of the accredited journalists association had to be shifted from Vivekanand Hospital to the SGPGIMS in a private ambulance on Monday night. The ambulance remained out of reach for the journalist despite the senior state government officials being approached. The patient was admitted to hospital late at night, confirmed a government official.

On Monday night, a senior citizen couple in Gomti Nagar who tested positive, waited for an ambulance the whole night (after following the process), but it didn’t arrive. As a result, their referral for a hospital was cancelled and they had to get another referral from the CMO office for admission to a private hospital. The couple had to arrange a private ambulance for themselves on Tuesday morning, said their kin.

When called for his version, Dr Sanjay Bhatnagar, CMO, said: “I am too busy these days so I will not be able to answer your questions.”

However insiders in the CMO office said, “The problem is because of centralisation of everything by authorities. No hospital can admit any patient without a referral from the CMO office. The ambulance is allotted from here and preparation of medical kit, its distribution has to be looked after by the CMO office. Our staff is already overworked.”

“Things could be managed well, if the condition of referral from CMO office is removed. Covid patients must be allowed to call 108, 102 to book ambulances directly instead of getting them through the CMO office. The problem is because of centralisation of the process.”

Officials of GVK EMRI (responsible for 102, 108 ambulance services) said 18 out of 43 ambulances (102 service) were ferrying Covid patients. The Covid ambulances were making at least 10 to 12 rounds a day. On the other hand, 38 other ambulances (108 service) were reserved for maternal care.

On an average, an ambulance takes three to four hours to pick a Covid patient from the house and drop him/her to the hospital, they said.