Despite an increase in the number of road accidents involving ambulances, attempts to screen out unfit vehicles, which were converted as emergency service providers without meeting safety standards, are yet to begin in the State. Even after frequent warnings by experts, the operation of two-seater vans with poor cubic capacity is continuing as usual, attending critical hospitalisation cases.
Doctors who work with emergency wings of various hospitals say that a specific action plan comprising five major suggestions, earlier submitted to the Justice M. Ramachandran Commission for streamlining ambulance services in the State, is still in cold storage. The suggestion of experts to introduce a scientific colour coding system for ambulances based on the standard of service and facilities has not been implemented, they add.
“Vehicles with poor cubic capacity can never be recommended for operating emergency services as speed limit violations by these vehicles can be very dangerous. Many such vehicles, which can be used only for palliative care purposes, are now used for risky long-distance services,” says V. Sudheesh, an emergency medical care technician who was earlier part of the ANGELS (Active Network Group of Emergency Life Savers) initiative. He points out that only Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances can serve the purpose.
Complaints are also on the rise against the use of unsafe vehicles as ambulances. Prajith Jaypal, a road accident survivor and a quadriplegic crusader for improved road safety measures, points out that inadequate crash safety standards, lack of proper seating, ventilation, and inadequate life support systems make the low-cubic capacity vans dangerous. It is high time the health care authorities introduced curbs on unsafe vehicles, he adds.
Healthcare professionals point out that the proposals for fixing fair price norms based on service standards have also not been implemented citing protest by ambulance operators. The government will have to come up with the implementation of the national ambulance code for better control over the sector, they point out.
Meanwhile, some of the operators of van ambulances below 100 cubic capacity argue that their service is highly beneficial for patients who are living in areas with narrow road access. No big vehicles mentioned in the list of safe carriers will be able to attend to such patients who do not have direct access to better healthcare systems, they claim.
