Bed unavailability leads to delay in ambulance services

A 58-year-old man had to take his son to the hospital in an autorickshaw after waiting for an ambulance for two hours. “Once we managed to reach a government hospital, we had to wait for an oxygen bed. When his oxygen level dropped to 74, I tried for an ambulance again because it would have oxygen support. When that was also failed, I took him to a private hospital in an auto,” said Gowinathan, a resident of Royapuram.

This is not a one-off incident. Shankari, who recovered from the infection recently, said she tried for an ambulance for more than an hour but failed. “I had to ride on a two-wheeler to reach the hospital,” the resident of Pallavaram said.

When asked about the issues that ambulance service providers are facing, it was told that the delay was greatly due to the unavailability of beds at hospitals.

“If beds are not available at a hospital, the ambulance has to take the patient to different hospitals until a bed is found. This approximately takes five to six hours,” said Jothi Shanthakumar, director of Flying Squad Ambulance Service.

Another logistical issue is that patients or their kin are unaware of their oxygen requirements. “We might reach the patient thinking 2.5 litres of oxygen is enough. But once when the ambulance arrives and checks oxygen saturation, the patient might need 10 litres. The patient then has to wait for another ambulance with enough oxygen to arrive,” she added.

An ambulance driver, Shankar, confirmed that the unavailability of beds is a major concern. “We inform patients and kin in advance that we take no responsibility if beds are unavailable,” he said.