Ambulance drivers and emergency response workers employed in rural areas work long hours and in difficult conditions to provide emergency services. Recently, a coolie residing in Gandhavayal near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu called ‘108’ for an ambulance to take his wife to hospital as she had gone into labour. Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) K Roja and the ambulance’s driver M Arun Kumar set out for the village but came upon a bridge that was submerged due to rainfall.
As taking an alternative route would have caused a delay, they parked the ambulance and set off on a coracle (a small wicker boat) across the flooded area. After crossing the water, they borrowed a two-wheeler to reach the couple’s home.
By then, the mother had already delivered the baby but the infant’s condition was delicate as his skin was turning blue. So they took the baby to the ambulance by the two-wheeler and coracle.
Arun Kumar told TNIE,
“We cut the umbilical cord but realised the baby needed oxygen and warmth. He needed more care, so we took him to the Mettupalayam GH for treatment. Meanwhile, we engaged another vehicle to take the longer route and bring Kavitha to the hospital.”
The mother was taken to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital as she had lost a lot of blood during the delivery. Both the mother and her baby are recovering.
This just goes onto show the difficulties faced by EMTs and ambulance services to reach people in rural areas. Earlier this month, a 27-year-old male EMT helped deliver a baby in a moving ambulance near Madurai earlier this month, facing reluctance from family members of a male paramedic attending to the pregnant woman.
In June, ambulance drivers and EMTs in Himachal Pradesh went on strike, accusing the GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute, which runs the 108 and 102 services of not paying them for working overtime. According to eHealth magazine, there is a major need of EMTs in India who are properly trained to handle all medical emergencies, traumatic injuries and accidents.
