By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 6: Some bidders suspect that the recent tender floated for the Managing Emergency Response Service (108 ambulance service) in the state by the National Health Mission, Meghalaya has been designed to accommodate a few with radio taxi experience.
The bidders have pointed out that the selection process has been done so that a radio taxi operator gets the same score as an experienced ambulance operator after compromising on quality.
“Inviting a radio taxi operator without any experience in pre-hospital and patient handling is like asking a train driver to fly an aircraft and put the safety of common citizens’ health in danger,” a bidder said.
It is learnt that the bidders have flagged their concerns to Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, arguing that radio taxi operators have not been considered for ambulance operations anywhere in the country.
“Pre-hospital care is crucial in Meghalaya where inter-facility transfers are needed because of lack of facilities in the districts and rural areas,” the bidder said.
The last date for submission of tender is September 14.
The tender states that the bidder should have conducted operations under 108 or similar other central/state government/PSU bodies for a minimum period of a year. It also states that the bidder should have at least two years’ experience in managing a network of radio taxis and managing a fleet of at least 100 such vehicles at the time of application.
The tender further states that the government suspended the services with GVK EMRI due to the disruption of services by the field staff.
According to the tender, the 108-ambulance service is presently being operated with a fleet of 50 ambulances. These consist of 48 ambulances procured during 2011-2019, two donated by National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) in 2021 and 11 others procured in 2021.
Out of the 48, three ambulances are off-road and the remaining are being used as basic life support although 12 of these were intended to be used as advanced life support (ALS) ambulances.
The 11 ambulances procured in 2021 are fully equipped to be used as ALS ambulances.