Odisha: Infant dies in ambulance, as driver, pharmacist take long lunch break

A one-year-old infant died inside an ambulance when accompanying pharmacist and ambulance driver allegedly spent more than one hour for taking lunch at a roadside eatery in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Monday.

Mayurbhanj: A couple in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district claimed that their one-year-old son, who needed medical attention, died due to a long lunch break taken by the ambulance driver.

Niranjan Behera and his wife Gita from Ambajoda village under the Betanati police station had admitted their one-year-old son to PRM Medical College and Hospital in Baripada town on Sunday after developing diarrhoea-like conditions. As its condition worsened, the hospital authorities referred the baby to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Monday.

As per reports, the incident took place when the infant was being shifted to Sishu Bhavan in Cuttack on Monday. The ambulance had barely travelled three to four kilometres when the driver, pharmacist and attendant got down and went for lunch in a roadside hotel.

The ambulance staff halted at Manchabandha on NH 18, around 6 km from Baripada, for lunch, the boy's mother Geeta Behera said.

Though the three promised to have a quick lunch and return to resume the journey soon, they took around 90 minutes at the eatery and the boy collapsed because of the undue delay, alleged the mother of the child.

Despite being informed about the condition of the infant, the ambulance staff paid little attention to her plea. The three finished lunch and returned after around 90 minutes and the baby boy had become motionless by then, she said, adding "my son's life could have been saved had the ambulance staff finished lunch fast."

"There is sheer negligence on the part of the ambulance staff. They did not even administer saline to the child when he was battling for life," she claimed.

The ambulance resumed its journey for Cuttack, but as the baby's condition was highly critical, he was admitted to Krishanachandrapur community health centre, around 15 km from Baripada, where the doctor declared him brought dead.

Tension prevailed following the death of the infant and the local villagers allegedly assaulted the ambulance staff, while the mother of the deceased infant lodged an FIR in Betnoti police station against the driver, pharmacist and attendant of the ambulance, a police official said.

Similarly, the driver of the ambulance Bibhisan Mohanta also lodged an FIR alleging that they were physically assaulted by the locals. Police registered two separate cases following the complaints lodged by both sides, seized the ambulance and launched a probe into the matter, said Inspector In-Charge of Betnoti police station, Ashok Nayak.

Taking a serious note of the incident, the state government removed the emergency medical technician (pharmacist) from service on Tuesday, a health department official said.

"The concerned Emergency Medical Technician has been removed from service.District Administration, Mayurbhanj has been instructed to take appropriate action against the Emergency Medical Technician," the health and family welfare department said in a tweet.

With inputs from agencies