Bhubaneswar: A heart-wrenching incident unfolded in the heart of Bhubaneswar in the intervening night of September 5-6 when the grieving family of a deceased patient at a leading private hospital in the city was subjected to a harrowing ordeal by local ambulance association members. The incident has brought attention to the need for better rules and supervision of ambulance services in the capital city of Odisha.
Reportedly, the family of the deceased patient, a native of Sundargarh district, wanted to take her body back to their native village. They did all the paperwork and called for an ambulance around midnight on September 6th. But things took a terrible turn.
A group of people, some of them reeking of alcohol, claiming to be members of the local ambulance association confronted the grieving family and the ambulance driver. They wouldn’t let them enter the hospital and insisted that the family had to hire an ambulance from their stand in front of the hospital, not any other service.
The family didn’t back down and called the emergency number 112. They informed the police about the alarming situation. The police from Bharatpur Police Station rushed to the scene, hoping to calm things down.
However, the aggressive individuals continued to stand their ground, further prolonging the family’s agony by keeping the ambulance and the deceased’s body stranded for approximately 2.5 hours. The police tried to mediate, but eventually, they suggested both parties go to the police station to sort things out.
For the patient’s grieving family, this ordeal was an added layer of pain to the already tragic loss they had suffered. Even after losing a loved one, they were left grappling with the traumatic standoff outside the hospital. Finally, when the Inspector-In-Charge of Bharatpur Police Station got involved, the aggressive individuals gave in, and the ambulance could finally take the deceased’s body.
This disturbing incident has raised serious concerns about how ambulance services operate in the city. Such confrontations and unregulated ambulance services outside important medical facilities reflect badly on the city’s healthcare system. It’s clear that we need better rules and oversight to ensure that situations like this are handled with care and compassion.
