Mumbai: Amid the lockdown brought on due to coronavirus, it has become tough to get an ambulance, due to the stress on medical services. People have to wait for hours, and sometimes, an entire day, to get an ambulance, whether or not they have the infection. However, a police constable, Tejas Sonawane, 34, from Cuffe Parade police station has found a solution. He has borrowed a friend's car and transformed it into an ambulance and is now using it to ferry patients to hospitals.
Sonawane began his ambulance services on May 27 and since then, he has ferried at least five patients. One of his patients was a woman in labour while others were suspected Covid cases.
When others are afraid of ferrying patients for fear of contracting the virus, Sonawane has no such fears. He has made some smart modifications to his ambulance.
For his own safety, he has made a plywood partition between him and the passengers, at the same time keeping in mind the person accompanying the patient. There is a curtain around the passenger seat as well. While driving the ambulance, Sonawane is clad in personal protective equipment (PPE) and before and after ferrying patients, he sanitises his vehicle.
"While on bandobast duty, I have witnessed how people struggle to get an ambulance. I have seen them wait for hours outside their building premises in scorching heat. Even relatives and friends are afraid to ferry patients due to the coronavirus scare, so I started my own ambulance service," said Sonawane.
A resident of Colaba, Sonawane does not work with an eye on the clock while on duty. It is the same when he's behind the wheel of the ambulance. Even when at home, he does not hesitate to rush to a patient's help with his ambulance, as needed.
For his convenience, Sonawane has been given a parking spot near the police station. Whenever a patient calls for help, Sonawane quickly rushes them to hospital in his ambulance and is back on duty in no time, after parking his ambulance at the allocated spot.
"Sonawane is a dedicated person and available for police service and with his ambulance practically 24x7. Even when he is home, he comes with the ambulance called upon to do so. We have also extended him our support," said Rajkumar Dongre, senior inspector, Cuffe Parade police station.
