Odisha: Ambulance cannot reach Rayagada village, pregnant woman carried 5 km in sling
In Rayagada's Kashipur block a pregnant woman was carried about 5 km in a cloth sling because no road led to her village; an inquiry has been ordered.
A pregnant woman was carried for nearly 5 km in a cloth sling to reach an ambulance in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, Odisha, The New Indian Express reported. The incident took place on Sunday in Malipadar village under Sunger gram panchayat.
According to the report, an ASHA worker called an ambulance when the woman developed labour pain, but there is no motorable road to the village and the vehicle could only reach a point near Aliguna village. Family members carried her across hilly terrain to the ambulance, and the driver helped shift her.
She was first taken to the Sunger primary health centre, where no doctor was available, then to the Kashipur community health centre, and finally to the district headquarters hospital in Rayagada because her condition was critical. She delivered a stillborn baby there. Chief district medical officer Dr Biswambar Behera said she was stable and that an inquiry has been ordered.
The report says this was the second such case in a week in the area. On 21 October, another woman in Kashipur block had to be carried on a stretcher for nearly a kilometre after a 108 ambulance could not reach her village.
Why it matters for ambulance owners and drivers
- Missing roads can stop ambulances well short of patients, so crews often depend on families and health workers to bring patients to the vehicle.
Read the full report at the source: The New Indian Express
This is a summary written by the Ambulance Owner Association. The facts are from the source named above.