It’s a Matter of LIFE or DEATH when You Call 108! Ambulance Doesn’t come to Pregnant Woman’s Aid

It’s a Matter of LIFE or DEATH when You Call 108! Ambulance Doesn’t come to Pregnant Woman’s Aid

Mangaluru: When you browse through the Internet and check on 108 Ambulance Service, there are good things said, like ” 108 is a free emergency telephone number in 25 States & Union Territories of India. The service is a public-private partnership between state governments and private emergency medical services providers. This service was rolled out initially in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. How it works? When an emergency is reported, the call taker gathers the needed information and dispatches appropriate services. Emergency help dispatched through this process is expected to reach the site of the emergency in an average of 18 minutes. Pre-hospital care will be given to patients during transport. Patients are transported in ambulances well equipped to handle emergency situations”.

Well said, but in reality, it is all different- and there are many stories, incidents and deaths we all have heard about 108 Ambulance service, and nothing much has been done to rectify those issues even after many many deaths related to the 108 Ambulance service. We have read in media that 108 ambulance service was denied to a pregnant woman undergoing severe labour pain, on the pretext that there was no fuel in the ambulance. We have heard about an incident where a man was forced to carry the body of his niece on a bicycle for about 10 kilometers after he was allegedly denied an ambulance by a government hospital, and who was told that none of the ambulances would be available to him due to “lack of fuel”.

But right here in our Smart City-Mangaluru, we have an incident that Team Mangalorean would like to highlight so that the concerned authorities take action and see that such incidents are not repeated again, and no lives are lost due to the ignorance and negligence of the staff handling 108 Ambulance Service. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Ms Bhagya Shetty, a Bank Manager but now a homemaker due to pregnancy, residing near State Bank area, Mangaluru said, “On Sunday 29 March, I developed severe pain since I am on my ninth month of pregnancy, and could deliver in few days. Due to total lockdown in the City, I tried calling 108 ambulance during the afternoon time, and had made four calls. I kept calling and calling 108, which is the number to get an ambulance, but there was no response. On the sixth call someone picked up the call, and before I could say more, the receiver banged the phone down. No apologies of any kind from them”.

“After few minutes I felt better since the pain went away, and I was fine on Monday, but this morning once again I had pain and I didn’t want to take any chances, so I stepped out of the house to catch an auto-rickshaw since I didn’t want to take one more chance calling 108 ambulance and fail again. But unfortunately, I was not able to get an auto either this afternoon, and I was in tears. And to my aid comes a good Samaritan, who is a volunteer of Red Cross, Mangaluru, and was kind enough to give a ride to Lady Goschen Hospital, for which I am very grateful to this man who came to my rescue. After a thorough check-up at the hospital, the doctors arranged a vehicle and dropped me home. But I am totally disappointed with the 108 ambulance service for not coming to my aid when I was in severe pain. What if my pain had led to more symptoms, and made my life more miserable? Do the concerned people in 108 or the Govt Health Department care about the people? Hoping to get an answer from these authorities soon”, added Ms Shetty in a tearful voice.

In conclusion, the service providers of 108 need to understand the gravity of the issue. If such incidents keep on occurring people will not tolerate any more carelessness by them. If the situation doesn’t improve, the govt should use the penal provisions in their contract with the ambulance service providers, and also take action against them, before innocent lives are lost. Nice to note that Ms Bhagya Shetty is doing well now, and here are the wishes for her from Team Mangalorean-“We all pray for your safe and smooth delivery and may God bless you with a healthy and happy baby- and a beautiful and bouncing baby! Congrats in advance”.