M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Dec 22: The Mamta Vahan call centre at the Medinirai medical college hospital in Daltonganj remains closed at night. This has been accepted in writing by the medical superintendent Dr Dilip Kumar Singh in his letter dated December 21 and addressed to the Palamu civil surgeon. Lagatar24.com has a copy of this letter with it.
The letter further concedes that Mamta Vahan call centre IS ought to be functional 24×7 but here, it remains closed at night.
Notably, the call centre is to cater transport services like an ambulance to a woman in need of hospitalisation for delivery or any other health issue. As it remains closed at night, there is an adverse effect on its mission and objective.
The medical superintendent in his letter has referred to the December 8 episode of delivery on the railway platform in Daltonganj wherein the desired support to the woman was missed. He has reminded the civil surgeon that such a repeat of the fiasco in service does not happen in future.
The medical superintendent has further suggested bringing down the Mamta Vahan call centre from the first floor to the ground floor for making it more accessible and reachable. He has sent a copy of this letter to the Palmau DC and the principal of the Medinirai medical college at Pokhraha in Daltonganj.
Palamu Civil Surgeon Dr Vijay Kumar Singh said he is aware of this letter and agreed that Mamta Vahan’s call centre should be functional 24×7.
As regards the fiasco in the December 8 delivery on the railway platform, the CS said, “Reports came that phone calls were made to the 108 for an ambulance and also to the civil surgeon on that fateful night but no assistance could reach the woman on the railway platform in Daltonganj.”
Dr Singh said that why the 108 ambulance service didn’t respond to the call on that night is being investigated.
As regards phone calls made to the civil surgeon by the Daltonganj railway station superintendent on his official number 9431138224 which also were not picked up, Dr Singh said, “This official phone number cell phone was in the possession of the previous and previous civil surgeon Dr John F Kennedy till then and it was made available to me on the next day of this episode only.”
On being told that the railway official has gone on record telling everyone then on that night that frantic calls for medical assistance were made to the district programme manager who did not receive the calls, Dr Singh said the number on which calls are said to have been made would have to be checked first if it was of the district programme manager or not.
In cases of emergencies, one can contact Mamta Vahan’s call centre number in Palamu at 7277538942 and its district nodal officer cum district programme co-ordinator Abhishek Anand at 8651245970.
