Pune ambulance safety protocols at Pimpri’s civic-run Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital have come under scrutiny after a patient slid out of a moving ambulance when its rear door opened on the road. The hospital administration has directed the private contractor operating the service to act against two employees involved in the transfer.
YCMH Dean Dr Rajendra Wable confirmed to The Indian Express that the hospital issued notices to BVG, the private contractor, following the incident. The patient, a homeless man admitted to the hospital by police, was being shifted to the government-run Sassoon Hospital in Pune.
The patient had developed sepsis in his feet and was unable to walk. YCMH decided to transfer him because it does not have a septic operation theatre facility, according to the hospital administration. During the journey from YCMH, the rear door of the ambulance opened and the stretcher carrying the patient slid out onto the road.
Dr Wable said the patient was not injured in the incident. Video footage cited in the report shows bystanders moving the patient and the stretcher to the side of the road. The ambulance returned to the spot a few seconds later.
According to the dean, the incident involved failures by both the driver and the accompanying staff member. The stretcher was not properly secured, while the ambulance door was not shut tightly before the vehicle moved. The accompanying employee was also required to remain in the rear compartment with the patient during the transfer.
Dr Wable said the staff member instead sat beside the driver, explaining that the patient had maggots on his feet and that the employee may have moved because of the odour. He described the decision as a lapse and said the employee had failed to ensure that the stretcher was properly locked. The driver, he added, was negligent in failing to ensure that the rear door was properly closed.
The hospital has asked BVG to take action against both employees. The administration has also issued strict directions to personnel concerned after the incident, with the stated aim of preventing a similar lapse during future patient transfers.
The episode highlights the operational responsibilities shared by civic hospitals and outsourced ambulance contractors during emergency transfers. In this case, the patient’s movement from a facility without the required septic operation theatre to a government hospital depended on the safe handling of the stretcher, the presence of the accompanying staff member and the proper securing of the vehicle’s rear door.
The hospital’s immediate response is an internal action against the contractor’s employees and revised instructions to staff. No further action or disciplinary outcome was specified in the available report.
