Forced detour eats into precious ambulance time at Vanivilas

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, April 14, 2015, DHNS: It took nearly five minutes for an ambulance to cross this 40-metre stretch. Traffic jam, the usual suspect, was not the culprit here. This was the situation on a rainy Monday evening on the premises of the State-run Vanivilas Hospitals for women and children in the City, where one of the entrances is blocked. This has been done to facilitate the construction of a new hostel building.

Patients who were in three ambulances, one behind the other, had no choice but to rely on their destiny.

The rear entrance to the hospital near the ENT ward of Victoria Hospital remains closed for the construction of a hostel. An alternative road, a narrow one, has been opened for ambulances and doctors to travel in and out of the hospital.

The driver of an ‘108’ ambulance said that it took him at least 10 minutes to reach inside even after entering the hospital premises. 

“The path is so narrow that even if a car comes from the opposite side, the ambulance cannot pass by,” he said.

He said that at times, they are forced to drive an ambulance that has already entered the hospital in the reverse to let another pass by in case of an emergency.

Even as the board at the entrance of the gate reads that entry is permitted for ambulances and doctors’ vehicles only, the narrow stretch also turns into a parking lot for vehicles of patients’ attenders in the mornings, thus compounding the problem.

A detour

The car of one of the doctors which was parked right in front of the entrance on Monday left the ambulance driver with no choice but to take a detour. The patient was also made to walk some distance as a two-wheeler was parked across the door, blocking the way for the ambulance. “It is the same situation even in the morning. Cars and two-wheelers are parked in such a manner that we are unable to drive till the inside of the hospital,” he said.

The driver said that it would take them the same amount of time to reach the hospital through the other entrance near the City market, owing to traffic jams.

Dr Gangadhar Belavadi, Medical Superintendent, Vanivilas Hospitals was, however, of the opinion that the new stretch that connects to the hospital is helpful.

“Through this entrance, one can reach the hospital directly. I am not aware of anyone parking their vehicles at the entrance as I was on my rounds,” he said.