The death of a migrant labourer has brought to light a loophole in the emergency response system in Odisha in the time of Covid-19.
Bipin Mallick, 37, could not be shifted to the hospital on time from a quarantine centre in Balasore as the “108” ambulance service failed to respond to the SOS calls of the local sarpanch for help. Bipin died of a heart attack.
Officials said the sarpanch made a mistake by calling the popular “108” ambulance to shift Bipin from the quarantine centre to the hospital where he passed away on June 4.
The officials said the sarpanch should have called the medical officer at midnight and the latter would have called the dedicated ambulance meant for transporting patients from the quarantine centres to hospital.
Bipin, who had arrived from Mumbai by a Shramik special train, passed away in the wee hours of June 4 after the ambulance failed to turn up. He died only 30 hours before he was to be released from the Centre.
The Balasore district administration had earlier refused to admit that the ambulance did not respond to calls for help but later said the ambulance was not sent.
The admission came after a recording of the conversation, including refusal of the ambulance control room to send the vehicle, was sent to the district collector.
In its report to the state government, the District Programme Manager, National Health Mission (NHM), Anil Mohanty said: “The sarpanch contacted 108 for transportation of patient to the nearest community health centre (CHC), Soro. But the person from 108 control room replied that as the patient was in TMC (temporary medical centre), he could not be shifted through the 108 or 102 as per the guidelines.”
Asked how a person in distress at a quarantine centre would be shifted to the hospital, he said: “Our guideline clearly says that suspected Covid patients from the quarantine centre would only be shifted through the dedicated ambulance engaged in Covid-19 service. For Balasore district, we have six such ambulances.”
While the 108 ambulances are located within 10km radius of the village of Bipin, the ambulances dedicated to shift the Covid patients are stationed nearly 40km away from Bipin’s village.
Asked what was the number of calling ambulance dedicated for Covid, Mohanty said: “The sarpanch should have called the medical officer and the latter would call the special ambulance.”
After his death, the migrant labourer’s swab was found to be Covid “negative.”
Asked why the control room did not send an SOS asking for a dedicated Covid ambulance to help Bipin, Mohanty said: “It’s a mistake. It would have been better if the control room had passed on the information. But we have not developed any system for this purpose.”
In his report, Mohanty quoted sarpanch Sisir Kumar Panda as saying that the patient developed sudden chest pain around 2am on April 4. Immediately, the sarpanch contacted 108 for transportation of the patient to the nearest CHC in Soro but the person from the control room replied that since the patient was in TMC he could not be shifted through the 108 or 102 ambulance in line with the guidelines.
The report said the sarpanch and the patient’s brother took the patient on a bike to CHC, Soro. The patient was admitted at the CHC at 3.30am and he passed away after half an hour during the treatment for AMI (acute myocardial infraction or heart attack).
Sarpanch Sisir Kumar Panda told The Telegraph: “Is it a crime to contact 108 at distress? When we failed to contact the medical officers, we contacted the 108 service. The control room should have taken the required steps.”
Bipin and his elder bother Madhusudan had arrived at Bhadrak railway station from Mumbai by the Shramik special train on May 29. Later, both had reached the quarantine centre at their village in Jalda in Balasore district in an auto-rickshaw.
Madhusudan said Bipin complained of uneasiness after having dinner that day. They got in touch with 104 helpline and later the 108 ambulance helpline.
