KUMARAMBHEEM: Three pregnant women have lost their lives within a span of ten days in the district as the 108 ambulances could not reach them in time. GVK-EMRI’s management on their part said that they could not provide the emergency services as ambulances were busy attending other critical cases.
Thanks to the ever-absent roads, people, especially those living in remote and Agency areas, are losing their lives as medical help could almost never reach them on time.
On August 27, family members of a pregnant tribal woman Kodapa Gangu, who went into labour, called 108 Ambulance Service. They claimed that the ambulance did not turn up and her husband Shekhar had to shift her from Routusankapelli village to Asifabad hospital in a passenger auto-rickshaw. However, she died due to over-bleeding.
Similarly, on August 23, another pregnant woman Farzana Begum from Elkapalli village died as her family members could reach the hospital in time due to bad roads and absence of 108 ambulance. Earlier, on August 18, Saritha, another pregnant woman from Salugupelli died while on way to Mancherial government hospital.
Chief Operating Officer of GVK-EMRI P Brahmananda Rao said that they could not send ambulance as the emergency vehicles nearby by the patient’s location were busy. “There are a total of eight ambulances in Kumarambheem district. When the patient’s family called, there were three ambulances nearby, however they were attending critical cases. Whenever our ambulances are busy, we ask callers to make alternate arrangements,” said the COO Brahmamanda Rao.