Two incidents expose ambulance failures at South Goa hospital

DEPENDENCE ON 108 SERVICE OFTEN LEAVES PATIENTS STRANDED

Non-availability of ambulances at the South Goa district hospital, including the 108 ambulance service, has come back to haunt the district hospital authorities again.

Two instances have come to light in the last 24 hours wherein patients had to either fend for themselves or arrange their own transport to make it to the hospital in an emergency, indicating that the issue of ambulance shortage plaguing the district hospital is far from over.

Last night, a pregnant woman who was in labour was rushed from the Margao railway station to the district hospital in a taxi after the 108 ambulance did not arrive on time. On Friday evening, a patient who suffered a leg fracture waited for over an hour at the district hospital, anxiously awaiting the arrival of a 108 ambulance to transport him to Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim.