TIRUCHY: A direction to crew to avoid rally routes and to alert the police for protection in the event of unavoidable entry into the gathering are among the guidelines the state health and family welfare department’s fresh standard operating procedure (SOP) issued recently offers for ‘108’ ambulance staff attending to emergencies during political campaign meetings. The SOP comes in the wake of incidents of alleged assault on ambulance crew across the state during political rallies held over the past two months.
The flashpoint was on August 18 in Vellore, when AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami allegedly shouted at a ‘108’ driver trying to pass through the crowd during his campaign. He allegedly accused the crew of having been "sent to disrupt" the meeting. The ambulance driver, Surendar, said cadre surrounded his vehicle, snatched his ID, and opened the back door.
A few days later, ‘108’ crew members in Thuraiyur, Tiruchy, complained of being pushed and abused after responding to calls of a woman in the gathering at an AIADMK rally having fainted. "We have full despatch logs to verify the call yet our staff members were accused of creating panic," a ‘108’ official said.
The tensions intensified following the stampede at the TVK election campaign in Karur on September 27. Private ambulance drivers lodged police complaints of being attacked during the rescue operations. "These incidents show how ambulance workers are caught in political crossfire. We need more police protection and non-bailable cases to be filed when we’re attacked," said R Rajendran, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Government Hospital Auxiliary Workers' Union (COITU).
It is days after the stampede that the state health department came out with the fresh SOP for ‘108’ ambulance staff. The new SOP, circulated to all regional emergency units, direct ambulance crew to avoid rally routes and use alternate routes. If entry into a gathering is unavoidable, they must alert the police for protection and use the vehicle's public-address system to explain their presence.
Further, district emergency medical executives and managers have been told to coordinate with police control rooms during major political events. When contacted, Health Minister Ma Subramanian told TNIE, "Officials and the police have been directed to ensure strict action against those [behind the attacks on ambulance crew] and to provide full security to ‘108’ ambulances in crowded areas."
