Port Blair, Oct. 31: Time and again the A&N Police has proved that it is dedicated to the service of the general public. In a humanitarian gesture to help a Cancer patient in a critical stage, bound to travel to Tiruvanantapuram tomorrow (1st Nov. 2016) by Air India, the A&N Police Fire Services readily accepted the call to provide the Fire Ambulance from her residence at Garacharma to transfer her to the airport.
Agnes Napoleon, aged 68 years has been suffering from Cancer and was undergoing treatment by visiting the Oncologist at GB Pant. When the condition of the patient turned critical, the family members wanted to refer her to Kerala, which is also the home town of the patient. Upon insisting, the Oncologist certified that the patient is fit to travel by air. Arrangements were also made by Air India considering the status of the stretcher patient to allow her safe travel to Tiruvanantapuram. Meanwhile, the attenders of the bedridden patient had made a request for an Ambulance at GB Pant to shift her to the airport but surprisingly, they were told that Ambulance is provided only for referred cases. The attenders were told to contact the Medical Superintendent but being odd hours, they could not get through the MS.
When the matter was brought before the Police, Shri Ajay Rai, SDPO South Andaman immediately called the CFO Shri Saighal who readily accepted to provide the Fire Ambulance for shifting the patient to the airport. While the gesture of the A&N Police is much appreciated, it also poses a question on the Directorate of Health Services to clarify as to why an ambulance cannot be provided to a critically ill stretcher patient if he or she is not referred by the Hospital. When the A&N Police can provide ambulance on a call, why is the Health Services of A&N Islands so reluctant to provide a basic facility for which they are bound for?