By TC News Desk
Agartala, 29th August 2025: Patients at South Tripura District Hospital at Santirbazar are being forced to hire private vehicles due to the unavailability of government ambulance services, family members alleged on Thursday. The issue came to light after a patient referred to GBP Hospital had to wait for hours before being transported privately due to the absence of an ambulance.
Hospital Medical Superintendent JS Reang confirmed that the facility currently has five ambulances, one of which is non-functional. The remaining four operate in pairs across shifts. On the day of the incident, both ambulances on duty had already left for GBP Hospital with referred patients earlier in the morning. As a result, when two to three more patients were referred later, no ambulance was available. Families were left waiting for over two hours in the trauma care unit, with patients lying on the floor before resorting to hiring a private vehicle.
Adding to the frustration, relatives of patients expressed anger over the lack of doctors at the hospital. Allegations have surfaced against South Tripura’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jyotirmoy Das, accusing him of arbitrarily managing district and subdivision hospitals. Sources claim that competent doctors transferred to Santirbazar are often deputed to other facilities within a week or two, leaving the hospital chronically understaffed.
Local residents say the shortage of medical personnel is depriving them of essential healthcare services, and are demanding immediate intervention to restore ambulance availability and ensure consistent doctor presence.
