To ensure that the patients are charged reasonable rates for ferrying them to the hospitals, the District Administration, Kapurthala has fixed the rates for private ambulances.
Chairing a meeting held here today in this regard at the District Administrative Complex (DAC), Kapurthala, Mrs. Deepti Uppal, Kapurthala, stressed that these are difficult times for everyone and it is imperative that the patients and their families of District Kapurthala have to pay uniform, reasonable rates to the private ambulances for ferrying them to the hospitals and health facilities in time of emergency.The others present in the meeting were Mr. Rahul Chaba, ADC (General), Kapurthala; Dr. (Mrs.) Jasmeet Kaur Bawa, Civil Surgeon, Kapurthala; Dr. (Mrs.) Sarika Duggal, Dy. Medical Commissioner, Kapurthala; Dr. Satpal, SMO, ESI Hospital, Phagwara; Dr. Sandeep Bhola, Medical Officer-cum-Incharge, Navjeevan Kendra, Kapurthala; Dr. Dharminder Singh, Medical Officer, Dr. Harpreet Singh Momi, Medical Officer and others including the owners and drivers of private ambulances.The Civil Surgeon informed that District Kapurthala primarily has the ambulances equipped with Basic Life Support (BLS) and also that since the COVID-19 cases are on the rise and in many cases, the entire family is affected by COVID-19, it is important that the ambulances are equipped with necessary safety measures such as partition between the front half where the driver sits and the rear half where the patient is seated or laid down.
The ambulance owners and drivers, on the other side, underlined that the oil prices have witnessed increase and even ambulances being special kind of vehicles, the maintenance and repair costs are higher as compared to common four wheelers.After detailed discussions and deliberations, all the members present in the meeting arrived at a consensus and the following rates/slabs were fixed for ferrying patients from the starting point to the health facility and back for private ambulances equipped with Basic Life Support (BLS):
Rs. 800/- for up to 15km;
Rs. 10/- per km if the distance exceeds 15km;
The driver will be compulsorily wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits;
The private ambulance owners/drivers will get the driver’s seat (front portion) and the patient’s corner (rear portion) partitioned with a see-through partition;
The rear/back door of the ambulance will be safely bolted and locked to ensure the safety of the patients and his/her attendants;
The driver will ensure enough stock of fresh PPE kits, N-95 face masks and gloves in the ambulance , and the patient and each of his/her attendant(s) must be provided with a PPE Kit, a N-95 face mask and a pair of gloves before getting into the ambulance. While the rate of a pair of gloves plus one N-95 face mask will be Rs. 50/-, the PPE kits will be provided at the control rate i.e. the same rate at which the driver buys the same.
The rates/slabs of hiring ambulance in addition to the rates of PPE kits, which will be made available to the patients and attendant(s) on “no profit no loss basis” and that of the N-95 face mask and a pair of gloves, which has been capped at Rs. 50/-, will be displayed prominently both outside the body of the ambulance as well as inside the patient’s corner.The Deputy Commissioner, Kapurthala further directed the Civil Surgeon to establish a mechanism to ensure that the patients do not find any difficulty in getting the facility of ambulances and too within reasonable time, and also to ensure that they are charged at the rates fixed by the District Adninistration, Kapurthala. She further directed that a Nodal Officer from the Health Department be deputed for ensuring the above.