Why Even Sanction 15 New Ambulances when Few Old Ones are Rusting at Wenlock Hospital

Why Even Sanction 15 New Ambulances when Few Old Ones are still Rusting at District Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru. During a recent meeting held in the City with District Minister In-Charge Kota Srinivas Poojary, State Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Ashwath Narayan had agreed to provide 25,000 COVID Rapid Test Kits, and also 15 ambulances to contain the increasing Covid-19 cases in Dakshina Kannada. And one thing for sure that politicians, like Ministers, MLA’s, MP’s know how to make good before their term ends, by certain projects, which are more beneficiary to them than the people.

Mangaluru: Even though Team Mangalorean had highlighted the issues pertaining to this report in the last two articles (Ref: Wonder Why 108 Ambulances Are Late, ‘Cause Bunch of Them are R I P in Wenlock Premises) and (  ‘Black Ambulance’ to Take Corpses to ‘R.I.P’ Destination is ‘Rusting In Peace?’  ), however, the concerned authorities in the District Administration, the politicians nor the management of Wenlock Hospital had taken any action to rectify the issues. Therefore, Team Mangalorean would like to highlight once again on the issues mentioned in those past two articles, hoping that at least this time, the officials will do their best in rectifying the issues.

If you visit the District Wenlock Hospital, you’ll notice a bunch of rusted 108 ambulances sitting in the premises of the hospital. What a drastic waste of taxpayers money? If the government or the hospital authorities had paid for these ambulances, they would not let these vehicles rust and remain dilapidated forever. Just because we paid for them, these ambulances were neglected and allowed to Rust In Pieces (R I P) in the hospital parking lot. One of the reasons among many others is that, since it was hard to find drivers for the ambulances, the vehicles got neglected, and allowed to gather dust. This reason could be far from the truth when there are so many drivers needing jobs. How come we see way too may private ambulances running in the city, where the owners don’t have any problems finding drivers for their vehicles.

With these few ambulances rusting in Wenlock hospital premises, the hospital is making use of private-run ambulances to transport COVID-19 patients and look at the money the hospital is spending on private ambulance service when their very own ambulances are gathering dust or rusting in their premises. And recently during a meeting with District Minister In-Charge Kota Srinivas Poojary, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan had sanctioned 15 new ambulances for the use in DK on 17 July- and as of today (10 August), there has been no sign of at least one new ambulance, forget about the other fourteen? What a promise to fool the general public.

With these few ambulances rusting in Wenlock hospital premises, the hospital is making use of private-run ambulances to transport COVID-19 patients and look at the money the hospital is spending on private ambulance service when their very own ambulances are gathering dust or rusting in their premises. And recently during a meeting with District Minister In-Charge Kota Srinivas Poojary, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan had sanctioned 15 new ambulances for the use in DK on 17 July- and as of today (10 August), there has been no sign of at least one new ambulance, forget about the other fourteen? What a promise to fool the general public. (Ref: After 26K Cases & 71 Deaths, DCM Ashwath Narayan Assures 25K Covid-19 Rapid Test Kits & 15 Ambulances  The ‘BLACK AMBULANCE’ Shradhanjali Vaahana

Also, if you go around the Wenlock Hospital, you’ll notice a “Black Ambulance” named as “Shradhanjali Vaahana”, an ambulance donated by Sasvat and U T Fareed Foundation to transport bodies of the poor, is also gathering dust without a driver and proper maintenance, even though the Government hospital lacks ambulances, during this pandemic. When the ‘Black Ambulance’ was brought to Wenlock, it was decided to run the black ambulance by outsourcing the posts of the driver and the cleaner. On the reasons behind zero response to operating the black ambulance, ambulance operators in the city said tender conditions were vague. The tender documents gave an impression that no fare should be collected from those who sought to shift corpses. There was no clarity on who will pay the salary of the driver, cleaner, fuel and other maintenance costs.

In response to this, the then-District Medical Officer Dr Rajeshwari Devi denying any confusion in tenders had said that an MoU would be signed with a registered NGO- under the condition that the ambulance has to be parked in front of Wenlock Hospital’s Administrative Complex. The MoU includes fare to be fixed per kilometer which is economical when compared to fares of other private ambulances. That was said by Dr Rajeshwari in 2017, and until today the ambulance has not been moved from that spot. No driver, No Staff- the ambulance sits as an Antique piece in front of the hospital.

Speaking on this ambulance to the media, MLA U T Khader said, “The Shradhanjali Vaahanas (Ambulances) were given to 30 districts when I was the health minister then, in memory of my father Late MLA U T Fareed. These ambulances were donated to government hospitals to help the poor and give dignity to the dead. Unfortunately, these vehicles have not been put into use. Therefore I urge the government to appoint drivers and the required staff and start operating these Shradhanjali Ambulances soon”.

So, while there are a few ambulances sitting idle with dust and rust in Wenlock hospital, which could be restored or repaired, the netas are buying 15 new ambulances, which doesn’t make any sense to the people- but probably, make sense to the netas/concerned authorities so that they can make good in the name of community service during the pandemic. It is also learnt that the district administration has also taken the initiative to procure additional ambulances through the state disaster relief fund and sponsors- seems like just another good idea?

In conclusion, could be due to the confusions lingering over the tender documents, the wait for the ‘black ambulance service’ and other 108 ambulances sitting in the hospital, need to be worked on and see that these ambulances are put into use, after all the taxpayers paid for it! This will be a good opportunity for drivers who might have lost their jobs during the pandemic lockdown, to knock on the DMO’s door at the earliest, and get employed as Drivers for Wenlock Hospital Ambulances, which are looking for drivers and staff!