Desk Report,
Illegal ambulance stand in front of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital demolished
A private ambulance stand has been removed from the premises in front of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal. On Wednesday afternoon, the hospital director, Brigadier General AKM Mashiul Munir, removed the illegal stand.
Illegal ambulance stand in front of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital demolished
A notice has been put up in the emergency department urging patients to use government ambulances. For this, a list of fares for government ambulances has been published and a hotline has been launched to get government ambulances in case of emergency.
Patients and their relatives are happy with the decision of the hospital authorities. Relatives of some patients said that patients will now be able to take ambulance services as they wish, and harassment will stop. On Tuesday, a news story titled ‘Ambulance Syndicate: We will have to take this vehicle, no other vehicle will take this body’ was published on the front page of Prothom Alo. The story details the harassment of patients and relatives by the private ambulance syndicate around Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital. The hospital authorities dissolved the syndicate a day after the news was published. The victims alleged that patients and their relatives were constantly harassed by the syndicate. They said that taking a patient from Barisal in an ambulance from Dhaka cost a maximum of 3,000 to 4,000 taka. However, due to the syndicate’s obstruction, that ambulance could not enter the hospital premises. Even if it used its own ambulance to carry the patient, the syndicate had to pay a commission of 3,000 to 4,000 taka. Otherwise, the patient’s relatives were forced to rent an ambulance from the hospital syndicate for 11,000 to 12,000 taka.
Recently, the relatives of a child from Ujirpur upazila were victims of such an incident at the hospital. They faced obstacles when they tried to take him to Dhaka for better treatment. The child’s relatives were harassed when they protested.
Hospital sources said that from now on, private ambulances will not be able to stay in the hospital premises. The patient will have to leave quickly after dropping him off. Along with this, parking arrangements have been made for seven government ambulances in front of the emergency department. The government fare list has also been posted. The fare for a government ambulance within the city is 300 taka and if you go outside the city, you will have to pay 10 taka per kilometer. The government fare is several times lower than that of a private ambulance. To get a government ambulance, patients should contact 01782755500.
Hospital Director Brigadier General AKM Mashiul Munir said, “No syndicate will run by holding patients hostage. I have been receiving complaints against private ambulances for a long time. Therefore, the illegal ambulances have been removed and locked at the gate of the stand. If any driver or owner ignores the instructions, legal action will be taken against them.”
