TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: For 25-year-old Krish (name changed) working as an emergency medical technician (EMT) wasn’t a dream career, but he was happy to save lives. Initially, travelling 45 kms to work wasn’t an issue, but when he was posted 60 km from home, life became tough.
“I’m from Valpoi and worked in Panjim for a while. At one time, I put up a post on Facebook regarding the bad condition of an operation theatre in the ambulance, and immediately was shifted to the Margao branch,” said Krish.
Despite constantly asking for a transfer, Krish was refused one. In addition to that, after three years of working on 12-hour shifts, the only increment he received was of Rs 15 and Rs 20 in addition to his meagre Rs 7,000 monthly salary.
At the center of the 108 protest are the 120 employees that had enough of dealing with what they say is a non-cooperative company.
EMT and EMT pilots that drive the ambulances took to the streets protesting a host of issue from salaries to working conditions and non-operating ambulances.
“We usually work 12 hours a day and what is really tiring is that we have to transfer cases of patients ourselves when it is the nurse’s duty. Even the doctors are to be blamed,” said another EMT specialist.
According to him, the doctors who attend to the patients transported in the ambulance sometimes write wrong reports that the ambulance was lacking in essentials or that there was no diesel. “We’re in need of more ambulances too. And at the end of the day we are the ones that have to face the brunt of the patients’ ire, if we reach late,” he said.
