BHILWARA/JAIPUR: The state health department has formed a four-member probe panel after reports that a woman in Bhilwara died Sunday inside an EMRIGHS-operated ambulance, the doors of which jammed and by the time she was extracted by breaking the window glass and was declared as brought dead at the district hospital.
The woman had attempted suicide by hanging in her room. Her family said that they discovered her in time and were taking her to hospital, but valuable time was wasted because of the ambulance’s jammed doors.
They also alleged that there were no oxygen facilities in the ambulance and the staff were unfamiliar with the hospital route, causing additional delays. They said the doors remained stuck for over 15 minutes.
Bhilwara’s chief medical and health officer Dr CP Goswami stated, “We have formed a committee to investigate the matter and asked it to submit a report soon.”
The probe committee’s scope includes examining the ambulance’s last inspection records, response timings, police documentation, hospital arrival details, door malfunction analysis, driver’s route knowledge, postmortem findings and emergency medical attendance records, Goswami said.
EMRIGHS has denied that the woman’s death was caused by the ambulance’s malfunctioning doors. “The patient exhibited no vital signs upon entering the ambulance, indicating death had occurred beforehand. We possess documentary evidence substantiating this,” EMRIGH claimed, adding that their report indicates the door functioned properly during patient loading but malfunctioned at the hospital due to multiple simultaneous opening attempts.
EMRIGHS said its investigation had revealed that the ambulance (RJ14PD7015) received emergency call on Jan 19 at 09.51am and reached by 09.56am. It arrived at MG Hospital at 10.13am. “This evidence contradicts claims about route unfamiliarity. The organisation confirmed oxygen provision during transit, with cylinders filled on Jan 8, 2025.” EMRIGHS claimed.
