Ambulance service stopped for 17 days

Treatment seekers are suffering much as two ambulances of Rajbari Sadar Hospital have been lying inoperative for the last 17 days due to lack of fund for fuel.

“Our two ambulances stopped running on May 6 as the authorities of Rajbari Filling Station stopped supplying fuel due to unpaid bills. We informed our higher authorities about it,” said Swapon Kumar Kundu, superintendent of Rajbari Sadar Hospital.

Generally Tk 5 lakh to Tk 7 lakh is allocated by the government for buying fuel for an ambulance every year but it is too insufficient, said Mofazzal Hossan, chief assistant of the hospital. 

The unpaid bills for fuel stood at Tk 33 lakh 76 thousand and 734 on May 6, hospital sources said.

“Every day I get calls from patients' family members to transport them to Faridpur and Dhaka, but I cannot help them,” said Md Mainuddin, an ambulance driver of Rajbari Sadar Hospital.

Critical patients are often referred to Faridpur Medical Collage Hospital and Dhaka Medical Collage Hospital for better treatment.

In absence of ambulance services from Rajbari Sadar Hospital, patients' have to bear additional cost for renting private ambulances.

“My grandmother is under treatment at Rajbari Sadar Hospital. Now she needs to be shifted to Fairdpur Medical College Hospital. As the two ambulances are inoperative, I shall have to rent an ambulance from outside,” said Habibur Rahman of Char Laxmipur village under Rajbari Sadar upazila.