Rescue 1122 vehicles in Peshawar lack basic equipment
Official says no machines to check blood pressure or sugar levels
Official says no machines to check blood pressure or sugar levels. PHOTO: ONLINE
PESHAWAR:
Although the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has been inaugurating offices of the Rescue 1122 emergency services across the province, it is ignoring the maintenance of rescue vehicles in the provincial capital. Most of the vehicles do not even have a sphygmomanometer to check blood pressure.
A senior official of Rescue 1122 told The Express Tribune the interior of over 50% of the rescue vehicles was damaged and could not be repaired for unknown reasons. He added besides blood pressure apparatus, people with diabetes have also faced immense problems since machines to check sugar levels were out of order.
“These two are the most important machines and over 60% of the vehicles do not have them in working condition,” he said. “We are not a taxi service; we have to provide medical assistance in an emergency [situation] – this is what 1122 means.”
Achievement: 1122 has rescued 3.9m people since 2004
The official refused to share his identity as he was not entitled to speak to the media.
Across the city
He said at least 20 ambulances were offering emergency services at nine different centres across the city.
The ambulances would also go to regions bordering the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The areas include Mattani, Jamrud and other parts of Peshawar district, the official said. He added people were happy with the service, but the vehicles could not be maintained as they should have been after five years of service.
Needing repair
The official said more than 10 vehicles needed maintenance as a few of them failed to respond to an emergency in the past. He added medicines were being supplied to the ambulances, but some basics were still required. “Whenever you are shifted to hospital, medics first check your blood pressure,” he said. “If [there is no] apparatus in a working condition [in the vehicle] you should not call it an emergency service. It should be called a transportation service.”
Rescue 1122: Rs0.139m returned to owners
When asked, Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Bilal Faizi denied the claims, saying the equipment was in working condition. “This is not a fact, since we check our vehicles [from time to time].” Hasan Dad, the official tasked with maintaining the vehicles besides supply of medicines, could not be reached despite repeated attempts. He refused to talk on the matter, but replied to a text message saying he was in an emergency.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2016.
Although the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has been inaugurating offices of the Rescue 1122 emergency services across the province, it is ignoring the maintenance of rescue vehicles in the provincial capital. Most of the vehicles do not even have a sphygmomanometer to check blood pressure.
A senior official of Rescue 1122 told The Express Tribune the interior of over 50% of the rescue vehicles was damaged and could not be repaired for unknown reasons. He added besides blood pressure apparatus, people with diabetes have also faced immense problems since machines to check sugar levels were out of order.
“These two are the most important machines and over 60% of the vehicles do not have them in working condition,” he said. “We are not a taxi service; we have to provide medical assistance in an emergency [situation] – this is what 1122 means.”
Achievement: 1122 has rescued 3.9m people since 2004
The official refused to share his identity as he was not entitled to speak to the media.
Across the city
He said at least 20 ambulances were offering emergency services at nine different centres across the city.
The ambulances would also go to regions bordering the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The areas include Mattani, Jamrud and other parts of Peshawar district, the official said. He added people were happy with the service, but the vehicles could not be maintained as they should have been after five years of service.
Needing repair
The official said more than 10 vehicles needed maintenance as a few of them failed to respond to an emergency in the past. He added medicines were being supplied to the ambulances, but some basics were still required. “Whenever you are shifted to hospital, medics first check your blood pressure,” he said. “If [there is no] apparatus in a working condition [in the vehicle] you should not call it an emergency service. It should be called a transportation service.”
Rescue 1122: Rs0.139m returned to owners
When asked, Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Bilal Faizi denied the claims, saying the equipment was in working condition. “This is not a fact, since we check our vehicles [from time to time].” Hasan Dad, the official tasked with maintaining the vehicles besides supply of medicines, could not be reached despite repeated attempts. He refused to talk on the matter, but replied to a text message saying he was in an emergency.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2016.