Death and despair as finding ambulances remains an ordeal
The Hindu
Vehicles charge exorbitant amount for transport to hospitals and crematoriums
After a 30-year-old resident of Ashok Vihar lost his parents — in a span of a few hours — he had to go through an ordeal arranging for ambulances, said his cousin Kriti Sharma. Ms. Sharma, from north Delhi, said her 62-year-old aunt’s oxygen started dropping in the last week of April and she needed an ambulance to be taken to a hospital. “There were no beds available in any hospital and we had to physically check a few hospitals,” she said. A group of eight cousins started gathering information on ambulances on Twitter, Instagram and Google and were frantically dialing numbers.
The Union and State governments provided support in several ways to the needy people, but private institutions should also extend help, especially to those requiring medical assistance, said C.P. Rajkumar, Managing Director, Nalam Multispeciality Hospital, here on Saturday. Speaking at a function to honour Inspector General of Police V. Balakrishnan and neurologist S. Meenakshisundaram with C. Palaniappan Memorial Award for their contribution to society and Nalam Kappom medical adoption of Type-1 diabetic children, he said the governments implemented numerous welfare programmes, but the timely help by a private hospital or a doctor in the neighbourhood to the people in need would go a long way in safeguarding their lives.












