Unsafe place ... Unpalatable food - Tamil Nadu ambulance drivers stranded in other states!

Ambulance drivers from Tamil Nadu, who had gone outside the state either to fetch or drop back patients have got stranded in other states due to the curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus are finding it difficult to cope up.

Chennai:Tamil Nadu, which is abundantly known in the medical field, attracts people from various states of India to come here for treatment. Accordingly, patients are usually transported in ambulances to other Indian states from Tamil Nadu. Various private ambulances which plied both ways either to fetch or drop back patients have got stranded in other states consequent on the curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Even though ambulances are exempt from the curfew, other complaints have been received that ambulances are being stopped at state borders. The authorities have released them only after the media posted pictures of a large number of ambulances from Tamil Nadu being stopped in Gorakhpur district. Drivers complain that at some places they were being stopped in spite of patients present inside ambulances.

Officials said that as a precautionary measure they had to isolate ambulance drivers who had come to drop patients in the states of Assam and West Bengal. Ambulance drivers say they are denied permission to return home even after 14 days of quarantine stay.

Speaking about this, Chennai-based JK Ambulance owner Jeeva said, “On March 31, our ambulance carrying patients post treatment from a leading private hospital in Chennai reached Assam on April 2. Ambulance drivers have been asked by the authorities to remain in isolation as a precautionary measure against corona infection for 14 days after dropping the patients i.e. until April 15.

Ambulance drivers have followed the instructions. As present, ambulance drivers have still not been allowed to return home even four days after the completion of the isolation period of 14 days. Their families are anxious about their well-being.

Speaking to a reporter of ETV Bharath, Thamizh chelvan a driver stranded in Assam, said, “They refuse to send us home after the end of our Quarantine period. The district administration officials say they have let the ambulance drivers go but doctors have to come and issue certificates of clearance. But four days have gone by and they are unable to leave for home. ”

Rajesh and Aakash, ambulance drivers hailing from Nagapattinam have been isolated even as they transported patients from thiruvarur to be dropped back in West Bengal. They are currently staying near Daban Hospital in Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal. They complain that they are being given bad food, resulting in vomiting and diarrhoea.

Speaking on the issue, Tamil Nadu Private Ambulance Association Medical Wing Secretary Sasikumar said, “There are more than 35 private ambulances at present in various states. Some more ambulances are likely to be trapped too. We are collecting full information. Most of them are stuck in Assam and West Bengal.

We are transporting patients to their hometowns with appropriate medical facilities, including oxygen as per regulations. At present, ambulances have been stopped at various places and drivers are kept in isolation.

Though the move is to prevent the spread of coronavirus, it is alleged that the drivers are kept in unsafe places and poorly fed. In some location drivers are not allowed to return home even after the quarantine period. The drivers are also prepared to isolate themselves even after they come to Tamil Nadu. The government should take appropriate action” he said.