Broken systems: Public ambulance service remain out of reach for many in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

People in remote districts forced to rely on private services to transport dead bodies from hospital

PESHAWAR:

When Sattar Khan heard of his father passing away in a hospital bed a few years ago, he could not spare a moment to grieve. His most immediate worry was transporting the dead body home, to Upper Dir, which like various remote areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province is yet to be linked to a public emergency service like Rescue 1122.

His only option at the time was ringing ambulance services operated privately or by welfare organisations, but the rates they quoted were beyond what he could afford. “Eventually, I had to carry my father’s dead body by my own means,” recalled Khan, adding that despite the provincial government’s claims of equipping K-P with the best medical services, this to date remains the lived reality of most people in his area.

According to Rescue 1122’s spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi however, they have around 200 ambulances operating across the expanse of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, that have been delivering uninterrupted emergency services to victims of explosions, road accidents, natural disasters, and other humanitarian crises. Per Faizi, the government-operated ambulance service also helps transport dead bodies from foreign countries to their respective home areas, “but in many cases, there is no policy for shifting bodies from hospitals to far-flung areas of the province.” Elaborating further the rescue service’s spokesperson said that Rescue 1122 is bound by policy to provide pro bono ambulance service to patients referred by the hospital itself, “so unless the hospital contacts us, we can’t do much,” he told this reporter.

Edhi Welfare’s Control Room In-charge for K-P Gul Rehman, shared that their organisation has around 150 ambulances stationed around the province, out of which 12 vehicles are dedicated to the city of Peshawar. “On our end, we charge only a small amount of Rs30 per kilometre for transporting a dead body, while there is no variable cost for petrol and diesel vehicles,” he said. Similarly, the Chhipa Welfare Association’s ambulance service also charges a minimum per-kilometre fee for hospital transport, except for cases of road accidents, explosions, and other disasters. “They are taken to the hospital for free,” confirmed Chhipa Coordinator Shahid Hussain.

Interestingly, however, a local ambulance driver who wished not to be named, alleged that various welfare organisations in K-P draw hundreds and millions in donations from around the world under the pretense of providing free humanitarian services, but the services are seldom free. “On top of that, they barely pay a living wage to us drivers. This is why we are left with no other option but to use the ambulance vehicle as a taxi from time to time to pick up paying passengers,” he confessed. The Express Tribune tried contacting the Minister of Health for his comments on the matter, however, despite various phone calls, no word has so far been received from the minister.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2022.