VILLUPURAM: In a tragic incident on Monday, a 23-year-old woman lost her life due to a delay in getting 108 ambulance service near Thiruvennainallur taluk in Villupuram district. The incident has raised questions over the efficiency of emergency medical services in the area, said sources.
The deceased, T Sandhya, was a resident of Mandagamedu village and four months pregnant. On Sunday night, she complained of severe abdominal pain and was taken to the nearest Primary Health Centre, police said. The doctors there said that she needed urgent medical intervention and immediately recommended that she be transferred to Mundiyambakkam Government Hospital.
Official sources said, Sandhya's family immediately called for an ambulance using the emergency number 108 at 12:30 a.m. The ambulance arrived two hours later at 2:30 a.m. and by that time, Sandhya's condition had deteriorated. Despite being rushed to the Mundiyambakkam hospital, which is 15 kilometers away from the village, she was declared dead on arrival.
Sandhya's family registered a case for the lack of ambulance service, with the Thiruvennainallur police. The mother of the deceased E Sumathi (45) told TNIE, "There should be immediate reforms in emergency medical services to ensure that no other family has to suffer such a tragedy. Our daughter's life was simply gone because of the state's poor medical service." It is to be noted that this was the first time that such an incident was reported in the village.
Police said that it is unclear what caused the delay in the ambulance's arrival and whether there were any efforts made to expedite the process. Further investigation is going on.