CMCH runs without ambulance!

Private ambulances (right) wait in front of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) to take patients while those of the hospital are left idle (left) only to count bills against fuel and drivers' salaries without giving any service to the patients. PHOTO: STAR

But the CMCH authorities show an annual expenditure of TK 18 lakh on maintenance of ambulances.

The authorities blame it on shortage of drivers for their inability to provide the ambulance service for the patients. But all three drivers are reportedly working as 'personal drivers' of two CMCH high officials and some doctor association leaders, sources said.

There are six ambulances for around 2,000 patients of the hospital. Two of them have been lying at the garage for last eight years. The two ambulances can be operative after repair.

Besides, two other ambulances are engaged in carrying of oxygen cylinders to the hospital as well as give lifts to some influential doctors' leaders tied to the ruling BNP and Jamaat.

But the ambulances are supposed to carry the serious patients to the hospital or shift them somewhere else.

On the other hand, two other ambulances received from the government cannot be used due to bureaucratic tangle. Of the two new ambulances, the 'mobile ambulance' remains out of order as it is left under the open sky outside of the garage since its procurement.

Sources said a total of Tk 3.3 lakh has been allocated for maintenance and repair of the ambulances this year. Besides, Tk 1.5 lakh goes against the salary of three drivers. Apart from this, the department concerned draws Tk 30,000 every month in the name of service to the patients.

With the absence of ambulance service, a section of CMCH employees run private ambulance business with the help of some senior doctors forcing the patients to pay high fare. They provide just 'microbus service' instead of ambulance service.

A powerful 'syndicate' comprising of trade union and student leaders and police is involved in the ambulance business.

Around 50 such ambulances wait in front of the hospital.

A doctor on condition of anonymity said that the syndicate has around 50 ambulances and doing their business without any permission from the CMCH authorities. "The hospital authorities can make an acceptable fare chart for hiring those ambulances what they did not do." "So the syndicate has become more pitiless and robbing the patients," he added.

Abdul Mannan, a relative of a patient, who was looking for an ambulances at the hospital's main gate on Sunday morning said that most of the drivers of the private ambulances had demanded unreasonable fare from him. He said that a syndicate ran the business on mutual understanding. "I could not hire an ambulance even after one hour effort to take my cousin to home at Mirersharai after a caesarean operation to her as almost all the drivers demanded over Tk 2000," he added.

When contacted Dr Ismail Amanullah, assistant director of CMCH denied the allegation of not providing the hospital's ambulance service to the patients. He, however, said that patients seemed interested in hiring the private ones than the government ambulances. "There have some official formalities to get allocated the ambulance and perhaps the patients are indifferent to go for that", he added.