A PIL to shorten the road to medical care

Filed before the HC, the PIL raises the issue of massive shortage of ambulances; patients resorting to private players as city has only 93 BMC ambulances

With Mumbai emerging as the country’s worst infected city and people succumbing while waiting for medical care, a public interest litigation before the Bombay High Court has raised the issue of massive shortage of ambulances.

The PIL, filed by former Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya, through advocate Chandu Mehta of Dhruve Liladhar & Co., is likely to be heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice KK Tated today.

According to the petition, the city had 3,000 ambulances, including the private ones, until March 20. However, the number drastically reduced to 100 after the Covid-19 outbreak. The petition cites examples of two citizens who faced massive delay in getting ambulances, resulting in death of one of them. The two examples cited include a 65-year-old Covid patient and one non-Covid case.

In the case of the coronavirus positive senior citizen from Mulund, the petition claims that the son of the patient had to wait for six hours for an ambulance on May 22, and then for another five hours for the second ambulance as the patient had to be shifted from a quarantine centre to a hospital.

In the second case, a watchman Ambarnath Yadav died due to unavailability of timely medical care on May 23. The petition alleges that the watchman was found lying in pain at around 11 am. The local residents noticed and called for a BMC ambulance, which allegedly did not arrive even till 2.30 pm. Yadav was taken into a private ambulance and reached the hospital only around 3.30 pm, but was declared dead at the hospital.

The ground reality

The state government, in a public-private arrangement, has nearly 1,000 ambulances across the state, with 93 in Mumbai. Sixty of these are deployed for Covid patients, and 23 for other services. The BMC hotline number for ambulances is ‘108’.

An official from the Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services told this newspaper that ‘108’ ambulances have oxygen supply and a dedicated doctor. He said the vehicles are stationed at various BMC ward offices from where they are dispatched. He said that earlier the ambulances were roaming with patients for over 10-12 hours. However, now they have refused to deploy ambulances unless there is a confirmed bed. “It’s only in the case of an emergency that the ambulance will ferry the patient to the casualty. Even now, two to three patients are picked up by the same ambulance and taken to the hospital,” the official said.

Explaining how the system works, the officer said people shouldn’t directly go to the hospital or get an ambulance on their own. Once a patient is registered with the dedicated Covid helpline 1916, a doctor would consult with the patient’s family to check if a hospital or a quarantine centre is needed. Only when there is a confirmed bed, the ambulance is deployed. “Ambulances are sent based on calls received on helpline numbers 108 and 1916, as well as the data available at the ward office,” the official said.

The official added that 250 multi-utility vehicles were deployed specifically for transporting asymptomatic patients to and from quarantine facilities three days ago. However, they don’t have oxygen supply or doctors attached to them.

It’s only in the case of an emergency that the ambulance will ferry the patient to the casualty. Even now, two to three patients are picked up by the same ambulance and taken to the hospital.”–A Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services official

Due to a shortage of civic ambulances and owing to the tedious process of getting them, people are forced to resort to private players. And while the hospital procedure and prices are regulated, ambulance prices are not. A private player, BSIDEU, charged a family from Worli an exorbitant Rs 24,000 for transporting positive patients from their home to Hiranandani Hospital in Powai on May 9. When the family was refused a bed, they had to go to Masina Hospital in Byculla. NGO Watchdog Foundation consequently lodged a complaint with the Municipal Commissioner about this incident.