Mancherial Area Hospital needs ambulance-stat

​Mancherial: Lack of ambulance with the Area Hospital here to shift patients to other health facilities for the past several years is forcing poor patients to avail private ambulance services at exorbitant rates.

The then Chief Minister, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, inaugurated the 50-bed Area Hospital in Mancherial on 1969. The hospital was built on the site donated by a former Congress MP. This Area Hospital has been serving as a major health facility for nearly four constituencies.

The one and only ambulance the hospital is in worst condition and not fit enough to use. The patients can bear the fuel expenses if the hospital has an ambulance. But the hospital has no ambulance.

Daily five to six patients would be referred to other hospitals from here. Since only poor patients avail government hospital health services, it is a financial problem for them to go to other hospitals by using private vehicles.

Of late, the State government is promoting institutional deliveries. But the Mancherial hospital has no ambulance to bring expectant mothers to hospital from their homes and safely send them back.

There are many remote villages in the vicinity of the Area Hospital and expectant mothers find it difficult to reach the hospital in the absence of an ambulance.

The State government sanctioned a new medical wing to the Area Hospital at Bellampalli and allotted Bellampalli ambulance to Mancherial. But this ambulance is not fit enough to serve the patients. Therefore, the patients are inclining towards private ambulances to avoid unnecessary risk.

The local people said that it was high-time the Area Hospital is equipped with an ambulance that has all amenities.

By: R Arun Kumar