Nagpur: The 108 ambulance that can reach a Covid patient in 20 minutes now depends on availability of a hospital bed. As beds fall short, the 108 call centre is now telling the patients’ relatives to first ensure there is a confirmed bed in the hospital they want to reach.
If not, the centre provides the number of NMC helpline or other officials for them to reach out. Only if patient or the relatives confirms a bed is available, the ambulance is sent. The system has been put in place following instructions form local administration in view of shortage of hospital beds, said sources.
Dr Krishnakumar Uikey, operational head of 108 service for Vidarbha, said the centre has responded to over 14,800 calls from Covid patients in Nagpur district, since the first case was reported last year. In March there were 37 calls a day and in April it has been 49 per day so far. With 11 vehicles deployed in the city and 40 in rural areas, vehicles can still reach the patient in 20 minutes within city limits. Considering the turnaround time, 11 vehicles are enough to meet the current demand, he said
“If a patient does not call back with available bed, the centre also makes a follow up call to ascertain the situation,” said Uikey. He said there was no shortage of oxygen in the 108 ambulances. There are over 200 ambulances in entire Vidarbha.
Another 300 vehicles are run by private operators. They said not only the vehicles are falling short, there was severe dearth of oxygen too. For most Covid patients, oxygen facility has to be there in the ambulance.
Ravikant Kanekar, the president of Nagpur Ambulance Association, said these days he was in a position to respond to only half of calls received. Other ambulance operators also told of similar situation.
The private ambulances are allied with private hospitals. “The patients normally get operators’ number from the hospitals. However, a number of patients prefer to go to the government hospitals. There it takes anywhere between two and four hours to get a response,” said Kanekar.
Most of the time, entire oxygen gets used up during the wait. A refill can only happen the next day due to shortage. Till then no other Covid patient can be taken, he said. Kanekar said the prices of oxygen have also gone up. Its Rs 1,000/- for a large cylinder as against Rs 700 earlier.