Biman Dutta, a resident of Faridpur town, was at a loss when he needed to shift his father-in-law from Faridpur General Hospital to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital (BSMMCH) in the district due to critical condition.

As there was no ambulance service at the hospital for over 45 days due to “fuel crisis”, he had to hire a private ambulance that cost him twice as much.

Many patients from Faridpur town and adjacent upazilas are facing the same problem due to ambulance shortage as critical patients need to be transferred to BSMMCH and Dhaka for advanced treatment.

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The hospital authorities are saying this problem has been caused by lack of fuel being allocated.

They said they have sent numerous letters to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Ministry of Health seeking funds but are yet to get any response.

“Lack of fuel allocation is to blame for patients’ suffering. We owe the local petrol station around TK 3.5 lakh for fuel. We had to halt our ambulance service from November 1, 2022,” said Ganesh Kumar Agarwala, resident medical officer of the hospital.

Two ambulances of this 100-year-old government hospital have been sitting idle in the garage for over 45 days.

Mokbul Hossain, a resident of Madhukhali upazila's Mathurapur village, admitted his neighbor to the hospital. Following his recovery, the patient's family had to pay Tk 2000 for a private ambulance. On the other hand, the government ambulance costs between Tk 700 and Tk 800.

Hospital Superintendent and Civil Surgeon Dr. Siddikur Rahman said, “We were given Tk 30 lakh for fuel in the fiscal 2021–2022. However, for the current fiscal 2022-2023, only Tk 72,000 has been allocated.

“We thought the allocation would increase but it didn’t happen. Due to a lack of funds, ambulance service was halted,” said Dr. Siddikur.

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“Once the allocation is available, we would resume ambulance operations,” he added.

Patients from the town and nearby upazilas first come to this hospital for medical care, while critical patients are transferred to Faridpur’s Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital (BSMMCH) and Dhaka for advanced treatment.