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| Jammu hospitals lack emergency ambulances | | |
SALMAN NIZAMI
JAMMU June 9: Ajaz Ahmed of Banihal believes his father could have survived, had he been provided first aid in the hospital vehicle shifting him to Jammu. In 2008 , a grenade was lobbed by suspected militants in the busy market of Banihal township on an army vehicle. The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on the road injuring civilians, some of them critically and Ajaz’s father was among them.
Although admitted to the emergency hospital Banihal, he was referred to the Governmnet Medical College and hospital Jammu by doctors, owing to less Medicare facilities available in the hospital.
In the absence of any first-aid kit or trained paramedic in the ambulance, he was left unattended throughout the one-and-a-half hour distance along with several other injured people. All of them kept bleeding profusely and wither in pain.
The vehicles available in the name of ambulances at hospitals in Jammu are just ordinary means of transportation. Most of the vehicles are worn out, rusty ramshackle and devoid of any essential facility to meet any emergency.
The private vechiles have to be hired for shifting of serious patients which charge Rs 300 to 400 for a distance of 20 kms which is unaffordable by a poor patient. Few months back a vehicle was provided by an NGO named “Young Blood Association” to SMGS hospital Jammu but some unscrupulous persons also have now started running 5-6 vechiles which is quite illegal as they have no formal permission from the concerned authority in order to run such vehicle. Thus it will be amply clear from the above mentioned fact that the private vehicle owners are minting an huge amount of money from the poor and innocent patients while shifting them to the hospital.
Health experts argue that the vehicles do not meet the criteria laid down for the designated emergency ambulance. "These so called ambulances are used for carrying the corpses, referring patients from one hospital to other and in most of the used by hospital staff for their convenience," said a doctor at Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) hospital in Jammu pleading anonymity.
An ideal ambulance designated for health care to tackle emergency should have all the facilities available at the casualty department of the hospital. It must have proper couch for patients, splints for immobilization of fractures, First Aid kits, emergency care equipment and supplies like Airway care, oxygen cylinders, masks, blood transfusion facilities, ECG machine, external cardiac compression, prevention and treatment of shock, life saving drugs and injections, IV fluids, drip sets, blood pints, blood transfusion sets. Besides this, refrigeration facility, communication facility, emergency childbirth and transportation of newly born infants is necessary for an ambulance.
Usually there are two kinds of ambulance one is Emergency ambulance and the other is patient transport ambulance. While the former is necessary for carrying critical patients from accident sites to hospitals, the later is used for transporting patients from one hospital to another usually non-urgent care centres.
Director Health Services Jammu, Dr. Jasbir Singh said that there is only one emergency ambulances in Jammu which is with the Chief Minister of the state.” Health department in Jammu do not have any emergency ambulance for the civilian population. There is one such ambulance and that is with the Honb’le Chief Minister of the state, "he said.
However the director is optimistic about putting the proper ambulance service in place.” Right now we have the patient transport ambulances but we are going to revamp the system and I am hopeful we will soon be getting emergency ambulances," Singh adds.
As per data available with the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu about 200 vehicles registered as ambulances have been kept at hospitals.
Among the hospital's fleet of "ambulances", five are Maruti Vans, two are Tata 407, one Maruti Gypsy and one ambassador car. Most of the smaller vehicles are used as staff cars, said a hospital employee.
Health experts suggest that apart from complete emergency ambulances in hospitals, there is a need for full-fledged ambulance on call service in Jammu, owing to the conflict in the region.” There is a dire need to set up a complete ambulance service that would cater to the untoward incidents and would provide timely help to the people. That way the number of deaths can be minimized in Jammu," said Sheikh Shakeel a senior advocate in Jammu High Court.
Ruing the efficacy of the Fire and Emergency Service in Jammu ,he says that the word emergency has been forcefully attached in the nomenclature of the department to hoodwink the people.” I fail to understand the emergency component with the department. They only come during fire incidents to douse the fire. Apart from fire fighting men they should employ trained paramedics and incorporate some ambulances in the department," suggests Shakeel.
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