Ambulance service indeed!

The accident caused by an ambulance owned, reportedly, by a staff of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) reveals more than merely the tragedy that killed four persons including a pregnant woman and her unborn child. It speaks of the syndicated services run by a coterie of hospital staff, of which ambulance service is one. The ambulance in question is owned by a ward boy and was driven by the helper of the ambulance.

For long patients in government hospitals have been held hostage by hospital staff. They exploit   the many shortages of the public hospitals, from shortage of beds in various wards and the difficulty in getting admission to inadequate number of ambulances. They also work as agents of some private clinics and lure the gullible patients away from these hospitals by promises of cheaper and better treatment. One cannot believe that the authorities are unaware of the malpractices that the lower grade employees indulge in. And there is an attitude of ambivalence of the hospital authorities in these matters that allows these employees to exploit the patients. One wonders, why the lack of action against these illegal activities.   

While we hope that the families of the dead and injured would be adequately compensated, though there is no compensation adequate enough for the loss of a family member, we feel the need for a thorough independent enquiry into the matter by the ministry not only of the DMCH but other public hospitals too to put a stop to the activities of syndicates run allegedly by some of the staff of these hospitals.