NT NETWORK
PANAJI
With close to 50 per cent of the ambulances not in operation and a shortage of more than 25 per cent paramedics, the 108 ambulance service in the state is in need of emergency treatment in order to provide the people of Goa with pre-hospital emergency medical services.
The 108 ambulance service is a state-sponsored ambulance project in partnership with the GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK EMRI) operating in the PPP mode.
The service provider is supposed to operate 38 ambulances in the state at 38 locations including 17 basic life support (BLS) ambulances, 15 advanced life support (ALS) ambulances, two neo-natal ambulances and four drop back ambulances for patients to be dropped back after recovery from hospitals.
According to Head of Operations, Suraj Naik, 20 ambulances are on road providing services to the people of the state, with 59 emergency medical technicians (EMT) and 81 drivers reporting on duty in shifts. However, staffers claimed that only ten ambulances are providing services in the state.
“The ambulance uptime is 90 per cent with only three-four ambulances off the road due to maintenance, and location uptime is 85 per cent. The location uptime is lower due to shortage of staff,” Naik claimed.
However, on Monday, more than fifteen ambulances in an abandoned and nearly scrap condition were seen parked in front of the GVK EMRI office inside the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) complex at Bambolim.
Naik further claimed that only six ambulances were abandoned and another six are under repairs. He said that the ambulances under repairs will be inducted back into services once the EMTs are recruited.
The company requires 82 drivers and 82 EMTs to fully operationalise the pre-hospital emergency medical services. The state services are short of nearly 30 per cent EMTs and recruitment is yet to be carried out.
Meanwhile, the 108 Ambulance Services Employees Union registered a complaint of harassment of their staff at work.
Speaking to the media, general secretary of the union Prasad Naik said that the employees have been facing hardships from the management and also harassment at work. “Even after applying for leave 15 days in advance, as the procedure demands, the company has been denying leaves to the staff due to shortage of staff,” he claimed.
He further said that while the labour laws mandate that an employee works for eight hours, the staff on the 108 ambulances works on a twelve-hour duty shift from 8 in the morning to 8 late evening. “Every staffer puts in 80 more hours every month,” he said.