THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A complaint surfaced on Friday, blaming the unavailability of 108 ambulances to have resulted in the death of a patient. The victim Ancy, a native of Vellarada, died after not receiving timely medical attention. An ambulance was called to take Ancy from Vellarada Community Health Centre to Neyyattinkara General Hospital after her condition worsened due to fever.

However, the ambulance was not allowed citing duty in Kurisumala. The family waited for an hour and a half for an ambulance, but to no avail. The audio call recording of Vellarada Block Panchayat member Annie Prasad with the ambulance care centre has been released on social media. The customer care centre informed that the ambulance would not be released due to the Kurisumala pilgrimage duty.

The member demanded that the ambulance kept at the hospital be allowed for the patient, but the customer care centre cited government directives as a roadblock. The family had to wait for nearly two hours as no ambulance was available in the nearby premises.

An oxygen cylinder from the CHC was arranged, and Ancy was made to travel in a vehicle toward the General Hospital, but she died midway at Amaravila.

Being financially struggling, the family had to rely only on the 108 ambulance to reach the hospital. Despite the intervention of public workers and doctors from the hospital, Ancy's life could not be saved. Only Ancy’s visually impaired husband was alongside her during the final hours.