Biman Dutta, a resident of Faridpur town, was at a loss when he needed to shift his father-in-law from Faridpur General hospital to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital (BSMMCH) in the district due to critical condition.
As the ambulance service of the hospital remained halted for over 45 days due to ‘fuel crisis’, he had to hire a private ambulance that cost him twice as much.
Many patients from Faridpur town and different upazilas are facing the same problem due to ambulance crisis as critical patients need to be transferred to BSMMCH and Dhaka for advanced treatment.
However, the hospital authorities said that this problem has arisen due to the lack of allocation for fuel.
The hospital authorities said they have sent numerous letters to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Ministry of Health seeking fund but yet to get response.
“Lack of fuel allocation is to blame for patients’ suffering. We owe the local petrol station around TK 3.5 lakh for fuel oil. As a result, we had to halt ambulance service from November 1,” said Ganesh Kumar Agarwala, resident medical officer of the hospital.
Two ambulances of this 100-year-old govt hospital have been sitting idle in the garage for over 45 days.
Mokbul Hossain, a resident of Madhukhali upazila's Mathurapur village, admitted his neighbor to this hospital. Following his recovery, the patient's family had to pay Tk 2000 for a private ambulance. On the other hand, the government ambulance costs between Tk 700 and Tk 800.
Hospital Superintendent and Civil Surgeon Dr. Siddikur Rahman said, “We were given Tk 30 lakh for fuel in fiscal year 2021–2022. However, for the current fiscal year 2022-2023, just TK 72,000 has been allocated.
"We thought the allocation will increase but it didn’t happen. However, due to a lack of allocation, the ambulance service was halted,” said Dr. Siddikur.
“Once the allocation is available, we would then resume ambulance operations,” he added.
Patients from the town and different upazilas first come to this hospital for medical care, while critical patients are transferred to Faridpur Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital (BSMMCH) and Dhaka for advanced treatment.