The Life Support Ambulance worth Tk one and a half crore given as a gift to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital by the Government of India is not being used.
The specialized ambulance with intensive care unit (ICU) facility has been lying under the open sky at the Civil Surgeon's office premises for a year. This has raised concerns about the lifespan of the ambulance.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Bangladesh on a state visit in March last year to attend the golden jubilee of independence and the birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Then the Prime Minister of India announced the gift of 109 life support ambulances. An ambulance was given to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital on November 27 of that year. Currently, the ambulance is lying under the open sky in the Civil Surgeon office premises.
This ambulance with Bangladesh-India flag can be seen covered with dust.
Rokeya Begum, Chief Assistant of the Civil Surgeon's office, said that she had not seen any patient being carried in this ambulance even for a day.
In this regard, Civil Surgeon Sajjat Hasan said, the ambulance is allocated in favor of Sadar Hospital.
The hospital supervisor can tell why the patient is not carried in this ambulance.
Sadar Hospital supervisor Ataur Rahman Munshi said that it is mandatory to have a doctor and a nurse for the intensive care of the patient during the operation of the specialized ambulance.
But no instructions have been given from the ministry to have separate doctors and nurses for this ambulance.
Apart from that, transporting patients in this ambulance is very expensive.
It will cost about 40 thousand taka to take a patient from Chuadanga to Dhaka.
It has been found that Chuadanga Sadar Hospital has its own two ambulances and two drivers against these ambulances.
But these two ambulances carry patients up to Khulna or Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
A private ambulance is expected to take any patient from Chuadanga to Dhaka.
BRTA Chuadanga Assistant Director Engineer Syed Ainul Huda Chowdhury said that if a vehicle is left for a long time like this, the battery will die.
Lack of circulation of lubricant will cause engine problems due to rusting.
