An emergency service in times of dire need

With a countrywide shutdown in place to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, there are only a handful of vehicles plying the roads these days. This unavailability of vehicles, however, can be a cause of concern for many, especially patients.

With that in mind, an organisation in Chattogram has come up with a free ambulance service to help carry people of the port city to treatment facilities in emergency.

"I read reports of people waiting for hours to transport their dear ones to hospitals. People have even died due to this non-availability of vehicles. It's tragic," Aminul Hoque Babu, president of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission, Chattogram Chapter, told this correspondent.

"From there, I came up with the idea to provide this round the clock free ambulance service," Aminul said. He said he is paying for the initiative out of his own pocket.

The service was inaugurated on April 20 by Chattogram city Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin. At present, they have one ambulance, providing the service; the organisation plans to make it available across 41 wards of the city.

However, the service is not going to carry coronavirus patients. Aminul laments this, but considers it an inevitability due to resource constraint.

"Coronavirus positive patients require highly trained health workers to transport them to hospitals. But we don't have them onboard. If we are provided skilled workers, we can also carry those patients," he said.

Kaisar Hamid Rajib, a resident of Pahartoli area told The Daily Star that his prematurely born baby had been suffering from diarrhea since Sunday night. The family was desperately looking for vehicles to take the infant to Agrabad's Ma o Shishu Hospital, but in vain.

But then, as luck would have it, Rajib found the ambulance service's number from Facebook and called it up immediately. In no time, an ambulance arrived and took the family to the hospital. Following treatment, they returned by the same vehicle, with their baby safe and sound.

Residents in need of the service can call at 01617445544, 0171821815, 01712823721 and 01519702020.