Ludhiana railway station has no ambulance of its own

Depends on other city-based hospitals to provide the service; often leads to loss of crucial time in providing medical assistance in emergency cases

The Ludhiana railway station, which is the largest in Ferozepur division, has no ambulance of its own, forcing it to depend on city-based hospitals to provide the service.

According to railway employees, the railway hospital has not had an ambulance for the past 10 years and the sole ambulance driver at the station had retired two years ago. (GURPREET SINGH/HT)

This often leads to loss of crucial time in providing medical assistance in emergency cases, as was seen in a mishap that took place on April 22.

A ticket checker, identified as Narinder Kumar Meena, 37, had slipped while trying to board a moving train following which his right leg was caught between the platform and the train.

Staff deputed at the railway station’s hospital provided him first-aid and called for an ambulance through the emergency number 108 but the ambulance took over an hour to arrive.

Railway station employees said that even after the ambulance arrived, the ordeal was not over. The ambulance drivers refused to take the injured ticket checker to a private hospital and said that they are allowed to drop patients only to government hospitals. The railway staff later took the injured to the Fortis Hospital on Chandigarh road in a private car. The victim succumbed to his injuries on April 26.

According to railway employees, the railway hospital has not had an ambulance for the past 10 years and the sole ambulance driver at the station had retired two years ago.