Lifeline for those in despair
Dial...
Dial... Next time when you hear the audible siren while travelling, think it is your duty to pave way to help the ambulance reach the hospital and save a life; you will be blessed, writes Gayathri V Raj
A mbulances - These are the lifelines of hundreds of patients, who are carried to the hospitals of their choices during emergencies. The sound of audible sirens blaring every five minutes on the busy roads shows us the importance of the vehicles, which has become an integral part of the medical care saving lives.
Ironically, these ambulances and the drivers are allegedly drawing flak from the general public in the recent days for their attitude. A recent incident, where an ambulance was forcibly toppled and stones pelted damaging the vehicle for arriving late has raised many eyebrows on the safety of these ambulance drivers.
Though these drivers are trained to be quick manoeuvring the busy traffic and making maximum effort to reach the place on time, their integrity has now been put to test.
There are also reports doing rounds that these ambulance drivers are keeping their beacon lights working accompanied with audible sirens even though there are no patients in the vehicle and there is no emergency, inviting wrath of the public. There is also no question of following traffic rules for these drivers. Are these complaints true? City Herald spoke to some of the ambulance drivers to understand their point of views.
Opinion
Ravikumar, who is working as a driver in the Arogya Kavacha - 108 vehicle since the past two years shared his views on the issue.
The 108 vehicle provides round-the-clock service and the vehicle arrives at the doorstep within 20 minutes from the time the call is made. He stressed that public co-operation is important to save the lives and shift them to the nearby hospital as without their help it becomes very difficult.. Most of the times an unknown person turns out to be a saviour during mishaps.
They work for 12-hours a day and the most irritating is the hoax call they receive. At least one hoax call is made every day, says Ravi. They travel all the way to the spot mentioned only to be told that no such call was made. The whole effort of travelling and time goes waste, that can be really used to attend a genuine case, he laments.
Awareness should be created on the importance of the service as they can understand only if their near and dear ones are affected due to such an incident, Ravi stresses. They have no life security as sometimes the public turn violent without understanding the situation, he adds.
There are five 108 ambulances running in the city and there are 517 such ambulances across the state, serving the poor. This Arogya Kavacha scheme was launched in 2008 by the then president A P J Abdul Kalam.
The free service was launched for the benefit of the poor who are unable to bear the expense of the ambulance, which sometimes runs to thousands of rupees. It came as a boon to the people, especially those living in rural areas, as they used to think twice to hire a vehicle or private ambulance during emergencies to get the best treatment at the hospitals in the city.
Lack of respect
Sanjeev Reddy of a private ambulance service said the ambulances have lost respect among the fellow riders who pretend to be deaf as no one feels it is their responsibility to pave way for the vehicle carrying patients.
Explaining their services they said right from the pick up and admitting to the hospital and sometimes if they have to take the patients to Bangalore for further treatment, they take the whole responsibility. He is the same person who had shifted the bodies of the three accident victims in Gundlupet to the K R Hospital mortuary. Sometimes the relatives of the mishap victims perform the last rites in Mysore itself as air lifting of the bodies costs lakhs of rupees, as is the case in the Gundlupet case.
Saving lives
The ambulance drivers save lives of hundreds of patients bringing them for treatment at the right time, and there are incidences where they themselves have donated blood for the patients, he says.
Speaking about the allegations, they said that the drivers of the 108 ambulances are usually seen beaming sirens, but it may also be genuine as they might be on their way to pick up a patient, they justify. There are around five private ambulance agencies in the city running 25 vehicles 24 x 7.
Apart from these all leading hospitals have ambulances of their own for the service of the people involved in a noble cause. So, next time if you hear the siren of an ambulance, pray for the patient and pave way for the vehicle.
Free service
* The 108 ambulances provide free services and is fully loaded with emergency medical equipment and furnished.
* One trained technician and a driver is present in the vehicle which arrives within 20 minutes to the spot, after the call is made.
* The medical staff in the ambulance will not only transport the affected person to the hospital, but will also provide pre-hospitalisation treatment like first aid free of cost.
