CHENNAI: GVK EMRI, which operates the 108 ambulance service for the health department, on Thursday relieved an associate emergency response staff from service after the person failed to properly respond to a distress call, resulting in the death of a 19-year-old. Admitting that the staff had made a mistake, Selva Kumar, GVK EMRI’s state head of operations, stressed that the staff alone could not be blamed as the emergency line was besieged by prank calls on a daily basis. Stating that a large proportion of the 14,000 calls received every day were prank calls, Selva Kumar said the staff had thought the call from N Ganesh Kumar on Sunday was one such call.
Youth dies after pleading for help, emergency service staff relieved
GVK EMRI, which operates the 108 ambulance service for the Tamil Nadu health department, on Thursday relieved an associate emergency response staff from service after the staff member failed to properly respond to a distress call, resulting in the death of a 19-year-old. Admitting that the staff had made a mistake, Selva Kumar, GVK EMRI’s state head of operations stressed that the staff alone could not be blamed as the emergency line was besieged by prank calls on a daily basis.
Stating that a large proportion of the 14,000 calls the service received every day were prank calls, Selva Kumar said the staff member had thought the call from N Ganesh Kumar on Sunday was one such call.
Ganesh Kumar, of Keeraimandabam village in Kancheepuram district, had called the 108 ambulance service and reported that he was having difficulty breathing. The conversation between him and the emergency service staff was recorded on the youth’s phone.
In the recording, the youth is heard pleading with the staff to dispatch an ambulance to Pachaippah playground, but the staff is heard insisting the teen give the phone to someone else as he wanted more details. Stating that there was no one else with him, the youth again pleaded for an ambulance as he could not breathe. The staff on the other end is alleged to have reacted harshly and said that he could not send an ambulance without further details. Sources said the youth collapsed while on the call and died.
Confirming the authenticity of the recording, Selva Kumar told Express that he agreed the staff was in the wrong. “But, again, he alone cannot be blamed. He thought it was a prank call. On an average, per day, we receive around 14,000 calls. Of them 3,800 are assigned and dispatched. But a large number of calls are prank calls and it has become a big headache for us. The staff thought it was one such call. Boys, drunks and others keep making prank calls to the centre,” he said. “After learning about the incident, the staff member did not come to work and he has been relieved. We request people to act responsibly. Today, a life would have been saved if prank calls were not made to emergency services,” he added.