Bihar Police To Face Action If Ambulances Stuck In Traffic; 100-Metre Zero Tolerance Zone Near Hospitals

Patna: Strict action will now be taken against police personnel deployed on a route if an ambulance gets stuck in a traffic jam.

To prevent patient fatalities, a 100-meter 'Zero Tolerance Zone' will also be established outside hospitals.

Direct Responsibility and Departmental Action

Taking a serious note of patients' losing their lives due to ambulances carrying them getting trapped in traffic jams, the state administration has issued necessary directives to police personnel across all road networks in the state to pre-empt any such situation from taking place. Emphasising that under no circumstances an ambulance should be allowed to get stuck in traffic, the state administration has made it clear that the police personnel on duty at that location would be held directly responsible if an ambulance is found stuck on any specific route or intersection. Strict departmental action will be initiated against police personnel responsible for it.

Recently, the issue of ambulances getting stuck in traffic jams featured prominently in meetings of the 'patient welfare committees' held across most districts of the state.

Average Delay Statistics and JLNMCH Report

According to statistics, patients are facing an average delay of 20 to 25 minutes in reaching hospitals due to traffic congestion. A report by Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH), Bhagalpur has revealed how the situation has gradually taken a serious proportion.

Over the past six months, 15 to 20 such tragic cases have been reported there, in which patients breathed their last either just before reaching the hospital or while still trapped in traffic. In addition to Bhagalpur, Mayaganj Hospital receives critical patients from the districts of Banka, Purnia, Katihar, and Munger.

To overcome the problem of main gates of major hospitals in the state remaining heavily congested with a large gathering of auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws, a 100-meter radius surrounding the main entrance of hospitals will now be officially declared a 'Zero Tolerance Zone.'

Similarly, under the Smart City Project, high-tech cameras will be deployed to maintain a round-the-clock, vigilant watch over ambulance movements via a central control room.