Ill-equipped 108 snuffs out Dharbandora man’s life.

TEAM HERALD

PONDA: Negligence by a 108 ambulance to provide life-saving oxygen to an ailing 59-year-old man from Pansule-Dharbandora in the emergency vehicle appears to have led to his death, while on his way to the hospital.

The death triggered angry protests by residents at the Sub-District Hospital in Ponda.

The distraught son blamed the EMRI services for failing to equip the 108 ambulance with basic life-saving equipment – a full oxygen cylinder, leading to the death of his father, Abdul Shaikh.

Narrating the sequence of events leading to the death of his father, Imran Shaikh said his father had suffered a severe cardiac arrest and he was rushed to the central hospital at Usgao.

“The doctor at that hospital suggested that we should immediately shift my father to the GMC hospital. I called for a 108 ambulance, but the oxygen cylinder in the ambulance was empty,” a distraught Imran narrated.

“The driver of the 108 ambulance told me that he had alerted another 108 ambulance equipped with an oxygen cylinder and that, they would shift my dad to that ambulance, enroute to the GMC hospital.”

“We then proceeded from Usgao and travelled towards GMC. The 108 ambulance waited for 20 minutes at Amigos near the Curti bypass; but the replacement 108 ambulance did not turn up.”

“As my father’s condition started becoming more critical, we had to abandon the thought of going to GMC and decided to rush him to the Ponda Sub-District Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead shortly after admission. The 108 ambulance is to be blamed for my father’s death, as its staff failed to ensure that it had a full oxygen cylinder while carrying my father to hospital,” said an inconsolable Imran.

The death of Abdul Shaikh triggered angry protests as residents converged at the Sub-District Hospital in Ponda. A police team led by Ponda PI C L Patil rushed to the site to diffuse the tension and pacify the angry residents.

“When we enquired with the driver of the 108 ambulance, he admitted that they did not have a functional oxygen cylinder in the ambulance, but the driver did not speak further on grounds that they were not allowed to comment in the matter by their management,” said PI Patil.

108 officials were not available for comment.