MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Aug 16: Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda has objected to the delay in state-run 108 ambulance services reaching the patients in villages. He has asked state Health Minister Banna Gupta to simplify the process of calling ambulances.
“Four children recently met with an accident while returning to their home in Bundu after buying the national flag. The family kept on calling the 108 service but it did not come. One child is still being treated at RIMS hospital in Ranchi,” Munda told lagatar24.com.
Munda said that people who call for an ambulance in their times of emergency are to face long question-answer sessions from the people at the 108 call centre. “They should just take the details of the location and nature of the accident and rush the ambulance,” he said.
When contacted Additional Chief Secretary of Health Arun Kumar Singh said, “Please give a written complaint at 104 and we will get it inspected.”
Munda, former Jharkhand Chief Minister, had tweeted about the incident on Saturday evening. He had requested Health Minister Banna Gupta to look into the matter and help simplify the process of requesting ambulances in rural areas of the state.
झारखंड में 108 एंबुलेंस सेवा मरीजों के लिए परेशानी का सबब बन गया है।इमरजेंसी में जब लोग फोन लगाते हैं,तो उनसे फोन में बहुत सवाल जवाब किया जाता है।पूरी प्रक्रिया में काफी विलंब हो जाता है। @BannaGupta76
जी प्रक्रिया सरल करें ताकि ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में लोगों को परेशानी नहीं हो।— Arjun Munda (@MundaArjun) August 13, 2022
The 108 free ambulance service in Jharkhand is being operated by emergency medical service provider Ziqitza Healthcare Limited, which provides similar ambulance services to four other states namely Punjab, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim.
“Enquiry should not take more than two minutes,” agrees Ziqitza Healthcare Assistant Vice President and project head in Jharkhand Milton Singh. “We just want to know the location and the criticality of the patient, and dispatch the ambulance,” he said.
Singh said that in the last four-and-a-half years of their experience in Jharkhand their average time of reaching the patients in urban areas is 15-16 minutes and that in rural areas it is 19-20 minutes. Ambulance not turning up after promising is rare, he said.
“Only in cases where ambulances are busy ferrying other patients that there might be a delay. But in those cases we enquire from the patients if they can wait for 30-40 minutes or else we suggest they take an alternative to reach the nearest hospital,” he said.
Ziqitza Healthcare manages 337 ambulances provided by the state in all 24 districts. Ambulances are stationed across the state as per the district’s population size. Khunti has the minimum (six ambulances) and Ranchi has the maximum (30 ambulances).
Singh said that all complaints are taken very seriously. “We have taken severe action against 300 to 400 of our staffers in the past. Most of the complaints are related to paramedic staff sitting in front with the driver and crew asking for chai-paani (money).
“People can complain at 108 sharing the time when they called for the ambulance and faced difficulties. We will get a proper investigation done,” Singh said, adding that there are 65 people in the centralised call centre in Ranchi to receive the calls on 108.
