Ambulance Drivers Work for as Little as Rs.11,000 a Month

Hyderabad: Driving through the scorching summer heat and the monsoon fury, ambulance drivers rue that many motorists have stopped making way for emergency vehicles.

Working for as little as Rs.11,000 a month, they have no option to take a rain check.

Karma (name changed) works a 12-hour shift every day, picking up and dropping patients in Amberpet, Musheerabad, Baghlingampally, Tilaknagar and Begumpet. "If a patient needs to be dropped at the hospital, we have to rush immediately,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

“Traffic delays the process. During rains, it gets difficult to find routes without waterlogging. At times, the patients are in pain and we have no option but to make our way through the traffic. The ambulances siren does not encourage motorists to give way as everybody is in a hurry,” he said.

"Patient safety and security also need to be taken care of. If something happens to the patient then we would be held responsible. We cannot take any risks," Karma said.

Working on a salary of Rs.11,000 a month, Karma makes the ends meet for his family including two kids with great difficulty. "At times we have to work on our off days. If there is something urgent, saying no is not an option," he said.

Vijay, a 40-year-old driver who works in the Kacheguda area, said, "Even educated people do not move aside for ambulances any more. People must follow these rules. It should be taught in schools.”

He also acknowledged that the roads were choked with traffic and there was little space for other motorists to make way for ambulances, especially when it rains," Vijay said.

A father of two teens, he too works a 12-hour shift for Rs.15,000 per month. He told Deccan Chronicle that his responsibility was to drop the patient in emergency cases at a hospital, whether public or private, within four minutes of pick up.

If he gets late or while travelling, something happens to the patient, he is questioned by the supervisors.

Saidulu, who takes patients from the primary healthcare centre in Musheerabad, has to take more precautions while driving as many of the patients are pregnant women.

"I work for non-emergency cases but since there are pregnant ladies who are connected with ASHA workers at our centre, they need to be taken for regular check-ups and observing caution is important.”

He earns about Rs.12,000 per month and has two kids to take care of. Getting stuck in traffic and water-logged areas is challenging but "one has to bear it," he says.

There are also private ambulances, parked alongside hospital walls. One such service provider is Adab Khan (name changed), who has been in the business for 20 years.

"There are many ambulances like mine. We have a numbering system based on whose turn it is to drop the patient. My business is hampered when the other drives group together and do not allow me when it is my turn," he said.

Khan does about three to four rounds every day and claims there are days when finding even one patient is difficult. He said the charges are based on the distance. "For a place within a three to four-kilometre radius, we charge about Rs.800 to Rs.1,200. If the patient has to be dropped outside the city, we charge on per per-kilometre basis and the amount is about Rs.6,000 to Rs.10,000 for one trip."

Most patients find it difficult to pay such amounts. "I have seen patients not being able to pay Rs.500 for treatment. They choose private hospitals most of the time. The doctors instead of providing immediate help ask for tests that the patients cannot afford. Hiring private ambulances for most people is not possible," he said.