THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Had the recommendations of a meeting chaired by the chief minister on July 1 been implemented, the state could have avoided the embarrassing situation arising out of the rape of a Covid patient by an ambulance driver in Pathanamthitta. In the meeting attended by the health minister, chief secretary, health secretary, home secretary and the state police chief, among others, the CM had raised relevant points relating to the operation of ambulances in the state. As per the minutes of the meeting, accessed by TNIE, issues surrounding the shifting of Covid patients in ambulances were discussed and a slew of decisions made on the day.
Noticing that patients had to wait a long time to be moved to health facilities because of the unavailability of ambulances, the CM had called for urgent intervention to address the same. He asked the health and local-self government departments and the Kerala Medical Services Corporation to take stock of ambulances in each district and to initiate necessary measures.
Using ambulances available with the Fire and Rescue Services department whenever needed, preparing a map at the local body level regarding the availability of ambulances and setting up online ambulance fleet management systems similar to that in Ernakulam in every district were the other major decisions taken by the CM. “It’s the duty of district collectors to ensure that there are adequate number of ambulances at their respective districts. They must also ensure that the aforementioned points are implemented without any delay,” the CM during the meeting.
In the backdrop of the Aranmula incident — in which an ambulance driver sexually assaulted a patient while taking her to a health facility in the early hours of Sunday — making a big dent to the state’s image as a role model in Covid-19 prevention and control, the health department is now citing the shortage of ambulances as a reason for the late pick-up of the girl for shifting. An officer with the health department said this shortage is not limited to Pathanamthitta. Other districts, including the capital district, face a similar issue. While briefing mediapersons on the follow-up actions initiated by the health department after the incident came to light, Pathanamthitta district medical officer A L Sheeja had stated that efforts will be made to strengthen the fleet of ambulances in the district.
What was suggested
At a July 1 meeting, the CM had asked the authorities to take stock of ambulances in each district, use the ones available with Fire and Rescue Services Dept if needed and prepare a map at local body level regarding availability of ambulances.