Noida police helpline to check ambulance services
Acting on complaints of overcharging and refusal by ambulance services to ferry Covid patients and bodies, Noida Police have launched a helpline for the public to flag such cases.
Ganesh Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), GB Nagar, said that the police have received some complaints about the ambulance services. “There are complaints of overcharging to take the body to the cremation ground. If any person faces problem, they can contact us at - 9971009001. We have also appointed personnel at different the Covid hospitals to ensure smooth functioning of ambulance services,” he said.
He said that the helpline number was launched last year to help people during the lockdown though complaints regarding ambulance services were added now.
“We get over 300 calls per day asking about various issues
related to Covid protocol and commuting during the restrictions. On Monday, we received one call where a person complained of overcharging by a private ambulance service provider. We sent a sub-inspector to investigate the matter and help the patient,” the DCP said.
Another complainant, Dinesh Singh, a resident of Homes Sector 121 in Noida, claimed that despite trying for hours, he was unsuccessful in
hailing an ambulance for a neighbour who had started developing Covid symptoms on Thursday.
However, the next day, said he was shocked to get a call asking feedback for the ambulance service.
“I had called the 108 helpline for ambulance service at 10 am. The telecaller noted down all the relevant details and said that the ambulance will be available shortly. The patient’s oxygen level was falling rapidly and he needed hospitalisation. We waited till 5 pm but the ambulance did not reach. The family members then took the patient to a Delhi hospital in a car and got him admitted,” said Dinesh.
Dinesh said that the next day, he received a feedback call from the helpline number. “They asked me to rate the service? I was shocked, this is negligence on their part,” he said.
Deepak Singh, head emergency medical transport service, GB Nagar, said that there are 14 government ambulances in the district which provide free service.
“Seven of them are dedicated for Covid positive patients and others for non-covid patients. We provide the services after getting instructions from the integrated control room, where the patients contact, share their details and get a bed allotted in a hospital. It is difficult to randomly provide ambulance as we have limited resources,” he said.