Contagion brings more ambulances on roads, but shortage & delays persist

Pune: Rapid rise in Covid-19 cases has shot up demand for ambulances, making their wailing sirens a frequent feature on city roads.
The demand can be gauged from the fact that the government had to even press private ambulances and drivers into Covid-19 service. Gopal Jhambe, secretary of Pune Ambulance Owners’ Association, said 78 private ambulances had been handed over to the civic authorities in Pune for Covid-19 work.
Jhambe said, “For minor illnesses or hospital admission, families would carry patients in private vehicles, cabs or even autorickshaws till recently. However, now ambulances are the only mode of transport to the hospital for Covid-19 patients and others.”
He said the waiting time at hospitals and crematoriums coupled with sanitising the vehicles after transporting Covid-19 patients are other reasons why people see more ambulances on the roads. “These are also the reasons for delays in reaching other needy patients. For the first time in my life, I have seen patients having to wait in the ambulance at the hospital for admission. A few ambulances get stuck at hospitals for hours. Likewise, there is waiting at crematoriums. After dropping these patients, we have to spray sodium hypochlorite and wait for a few hours before making another trip,” Jhambe said.
According to Dnyaneshwar Shelke, chief operating officer of Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), their ambulances have been divided for Covid and non-Covid duty. “Out of 82 ambulances in Pune district, 30 have been assigned for Covid-19 while the remaining 52 are pressed into service for non-Covid duty,” he said.
Prashant Kanojia, founder of Help Riders, a group that has been playing an active role in ambulance coordination, said, “Finding ambulances continues to remain a major problem. The administration needs to bring in more vehicles. Even smaller private hospitals must have an ambulance of their own.”