Countries like India and other developing nations are not fortunate enough to have seamless air ambulance services. The fact was highlighted by the recent death of an 80-year-old man in Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep is a group of islands and is a union territory of India. It is to the west of the nation amidst the Indian Ocean. The patient and the family had waited for air ambulance services for 36 straight hours. However, the medical flight had not arrived. The idea was to transfer the patient to an appropriate treatment facility in the nearby state of Kerala.
The Situation and the Need for Air Ambulance Services
The man in need was Hamsakoya who had sustained a head injury as he stepped out of his home. He was immediately taken to a local hospital where authorities suggested that he be flown to a better treatment facility. However, this meant that the 80-year-old man had to be flown via air ambulance services across the ocean to reach the mainland of India. In fact, the hospital had contacted an air ambulance service provider to make this happen. Unfortunately, the medical flight never arrived and ultimately, Hamsakoya lost his life.
The Reason behind Unavailability of Air Ambulance Services
The air ambulance company had initially said that the poor weather conditions were impeding it from providing the transfer services. At the time, there were five other patients who were in need of air ambulance services. None of them was able to get a medical flight. However, it was shocking to learn later that a political figure was actually using the air ambulance for non-medical purposes. Complete details of the incident were not available but the controversy did trigger off around this occurrence. Air ambulance services are considered almost unaffordable in countries like India where the market for this mode of medical transport is still evolving.
