Drivers can no longer choose hospitals under ‘108’ ambulance service

The State Cabinet has decided to remove some of the obstacles in transporting patients in ‘108’ ambulances.

Presently, there are complaints that ambulance drivers are deciding the hospitals to be admitted in case of an emergency rather than the patients and their families taking a call on the issue, Law Minister J.C. Madhuswamy said. The new rules would now allow the patients to decide the hospitals based on their requirements.

Similarly, there were issues related to geographical jurisdiction as earlier each ambulance was allowed to travel within a certain area. This was resulting the ambulance drivers often shifting the patients into other jurisdictional vehicles in case of a long journey. However, now such curbs have been removed and it is the responsibility of the ambulances to reach the patients till the end point, the Minister said.

The government, which has called for tenders to choose the service provider for these ‘108’ ambulance service, would incorporate such changes in the rules concerned, the Minister said.