While the Aam Aadmi Party has made and continues to make tall claims to keep the health of the citizens a priority, a doleful incident took place in the Dera Bassi area of Punjab. A sobbing mother of a 20-year-old son undergoing treatment at a local hospital in Dera Bassi was forced to hold a glucose bottle while his father pushed a cart for around 16 km to take him to Chandigarh for further treatment after the ‘108’ helpline told them there had been no ambulance for transportation of patients.
According to the reports, 20-year-old Ehtesham, son of Dera Bassi-based used cloth merchant Abdul Ahad, had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital for the past three days. He was taken to the Civil Hospital at around 10 am on November 11 after his condition worsened.
Further, the doctors at the Civil Hospital monitored his health condition and referred him to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32 for specific treatment. Ahad asked for an ambulance service to take his son to GMCH, sector 32. However, he was asked to contact the ‘108’ helpline for the service.
When Ahad contacted the helpdesk, the operator indicated her inability to provide an ambulance, stating that none was available for its disposal. When asked about how soon it could be arranged, Ahad was advised to make their own arrangement to reach the hospital.
Ahad grabbed his cart and asked his wife Noorez Khatun to hold the glucose bottle as they raced their son to Chandigarh at around 2 pm. The boy who was undergoing treatment lay down confined in a small-sized cart while his parents ferried him to Chandigarh in absence of an ambulance.
“My son’s platelet count was around 22,000. I called up the helpline for an ambulance, but they claimed non-availability. I chose not to take the chance of waiting for the Health Department to provide me with an ambulance,” said Abdul at the GMCH-32. He also held a doctor’s note reading “fever, body aches, abdomen pain and low platelet count. Please refer to GMCH-32.”
BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga took cognizance of the incident and slammed the AAP government for failing to fulfil the medical requirements of the citizens. “Ambulance was on ‘VIP duty’ in the AAP government rule… so what could have the poor father done? He could not leave his son to die so ran his cart on the street and asked his wife to sit behind and hold the bottle of glucose in her hand. This is how they reached Chandigarh from Derabassi,” he tweeted.
Also, Dr Adarshpal Kaur, Mohali Civil Surgeon took cognizance of the incident and said, “Doctors try and help patients as far as possible. We will go into the incident and take preventive measures to ensure such incidents do not recur.”