Kendrapara: A patient died waiting for an ambulance which couldn’t reach in time to ferry him to a hospital due to lack of a proper road to the village.
The incident was reported in Barabatia village under Derabish block. Dolagobinda Swain, an octogenarian, fell ill Monday and was in urgent need of medical attention. His granddaughter Nikita Swain requisitioned a 108-ambulabnce to take him to a hospital.
However, the ambulance got stuck for over an hour on the muddy road, just 500 metre away from the village. Meanwhile, the elderly man’s condition deteriorated.
Villagers somehow managed to bring the patient to the ambulance. But ambulance pharmacist Ayushman Behera declared the patient brought dead.
The villagers said had there been a proper road to the village, the elderly man’s life could have been saved.
“We have taken up the matter with the sarpanch, the BDO and the collector, but unfortunately the administration didn’t take any step to lay a road to our village,” alleged Sadashiba Swain, a villager.
When contacted, Derbaish BDO Saroj Kumar Das said he would ask the junior engineer to visit the village and take stock of the road’s condition. Accordingly, steps would be taken to construct a pucca road to the village, the BDO added. PNN
