A one-year old infant died on his way to the hospital after the ambulance staff allegedly took a long lunch break. The boy from Mayurbhanj was being taken to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
The boy’s parents informed that the boy had been admitted to Pandt Raghunath Murmu College and Hospital in Baripada with diarrhoea.
After his condition worsened, the doctors referred him to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. A 108 ambulance was arranged and the family alleged that the driver and a pharmacist stepped down for lunch at a roadside eatery.
After an hour, the parents requested the ambulance staff to return, but the duo allegedly paid no heed. The parents claim they stopped the vehicle for almost 90minutes.
“The ambulance staff had stopped for lunch at a roadside eatery and promised to return soon. After the boy’s father pleaded them to hurry, the staff turned him away. They came back after almost 90 minutes,” Parmanand Behera, maternal uncle of the boy alleged.
After resuming the journey, the boy turned motionless and was admitted to a Community Health Centre in Krushnachandrapur. However, the doctors declared him brought dead. The ambulance-staff duo fled the spot after the boy’s father and uncle allegedly attacked them. A complaint has been filed at the Krushnachandrapur police outpost.