SHILLONG: The 108 ambulance service has been accused of not paying heed to a call for an ambulance to ferry a patient from Jaiaw Laitdom to a nearby hospital fearing it could be a case of COVID-19 infection.
The patient later passed away at his home with the family waiting for the ambulance to turn up.
The allegation has, however, been refuted.
A relative of the patient said on Thursday that the patient was unwell for the last one week due to stomach problem.
According to him, the person’s condition suddenly turned critical on Wednesday night adding that it was at around 3 am on Thursday they called up the 108 helpline number.
He said that the person who received the call told them that there was no ambulance available and that they would come as soon as one was available. He also alleged that the person of the 108 ambulance service also enquired if it was a suspected COVID-19 case.
According to the relative, the person had also said that the patient would have to be tested for COVID-19 before being shifted to the hospital.
He, however, alleged that there were no signs of the 108 ambulance till the person expired on Thursday morning at around 5.30 am.
When contacted, officials from 108 service said that a call was received from Jaiaw water tank area at 3.41 am and an ambulance was accordingly dispatched at 3.43 am and it reached the location at 4 am.
An official said that the team of 108 did not know the exact location and they kept on calling the number for half-an-hour but the mobile phone was found to be switched off.
“Our teams from the ambulance and the call centre kept on dialing the number of the caller but it was switched off,” the official said while adding that the ambulance personnel even used siren and flashers but nobody came out
Finally at 5 am, the ambulance left the spot after getting no response from the caller.
