Baripada: Even as six days have passed since a pregnant woman and her unborn child died on way in an ambulance after the vehicle ran out of fuel, the authorities are yet to take action against the accused medical officers and staff of the CHC.
Locals alleged that the hospital authorities were trying to pass the buck on the ambulance driver after suspending him.
Sources said, Tulasi of Hanida village in the district was admitted to Bangiriposhi CHC for an institutional delivery. Before she could give birth to the child, her condition became critical.
The attending doctors referred the expectant mother to Baripada district headquarters hospital. While shifting them in an ambulance, the vehicle ran out of diesel near Kuliana. In the meantime, the condition of the woman worsened leading to death.
“After my wife suffered labour pain, I took her to Bangiriposhi hospital yesterday. The doctor referred the patient to the district headquarters hospital. Midway, the ambulance ran out of fuel and the ASHA worker dialed for another ambulance. By the time the next ambulance arrived, it was too late. Upon arrival at the hospital, she was declared dead,” said husband of the woman, Chittaranjan Munda.
“The ambulance driver should have known that the vehicle was running short of fuel. I hope others don’t suffer like me,” a sobbing Chittaranjan said. Sources said, there is one ambulance in the CHC. After this case the patients have been deprived of further ambulance service.
Notably, both the insurance certificate and fitness certificate of the ambulance have expired from 2010 and 2016 respectively.
When concerned officers were asked, they said the driver had not informed them about the expiry of certificates. According to Bangiriposhi CHC medical officer Laxmipriya Pradhan, the driver was maintaining paper work of the ambulance.
After an inquiry, the driver was found guilty and he was suspended by the CHC October 6, she added.
ADMO Gyan Mohanty admitted that the ambulance could not reach the destination because of insufficient fuel. The ADMO claimed that the ambulance had enough fuel when it started its journey to Baripada, but it ran out of it due to a breakage in the oil pipe. He said the matter will be looked into by the district authorities.
PNN