MP Naresh Gujral flags off 5 ambulances at Civil Hospital

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 15

The Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral today flagged off five ambulances at the Civil Hospital here today.

He visited the office of the Jalandhar Civil Surgeon to flag off the new ambulances that had come up from his Rs 80 lakh MPLADs grant. Leaders of the SAD, the BJP and Congress flayed the hospital staff for not maintaining the equipment that were being provided to the Civil Hospital.

Health officials said: “There are various problems attached with running the equipment. We need technicians. For ambulances, we need drivers. We also have to meet maintenance costs of the equipment.”

At this, the MLA snubbed the doctors and said: “Our MP is providing you such costly infrastructure. Why can’t you find out ways to deal with such routine issues? You must write to the department. For every machine that you use, you are levying some token fee.”

“In reply to my question in the Vidhan Sabha, I have been told that the dope test fee has been enhanced to Rs 1,500. Jalandhar Civil Hospital alone is making an income of Rs 3 lakh per month. So, why can we not use this money for maintenance, salaries to operators and technicians etc?” he added.

As the MP announced that the ambulances had been launched for Adampur, Nakodar, Shahkot, Phillaur and Kartarpur, ex-BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia quizzed the doctors as to what facilities were available in the ambulances.

As Kalia got a reply that the ambulances were simple and the equipment was yet to be fitted, a BJP leader said: “Why have pre-fabricated ambulances not been bought? They will have definitely been a better choice.”

“It will take long for unequipped ambulances to be fitted with new gadgets and be put to use. It is a bad purchase,” he added.

The MLAs asked Gujral to donate funds for two CT scan machines too, to which he readily agreed. MLAs Gurpartap Wadala, Baldev Khaira and Avtar Junior talked about the shortage of doctors and equipment at the Primary Health Centres at various places in their respective constituencies.