In stark contrast to the government’s claim that it is trying to provide the best healthcare service, the only ambulance at Sailkupa upazila health complex (UHC) in Jhenidah has been lying unused for eight months because it has no fuel. This has made it difficult to shift emergency patients from the UHC to hospitals elsewhere.

Sailkupa UHC had two ambulances. One of them went out of order a long time ago. So, patients relied on only one ambulance. But that one, too, stopped working eight months ago when the fuel supplier stopped sending fuel due to unpaid bills, said UHC sources.

The upazila health and family planning officer (UHFPO) of Sailkupa, Dr Khondaker Mohammad Babar, admitted that the department owes over Tk. 1 lakh to the fuel supplier. He explained that they ran up the bill when the ambulance made some long-distance trips. A trip to Dhaka from the UHC would cost about Tk. 4000–5000.

Owing to pressure from “influential quarters and unavoidable circumstances”, they have to allow the lone ambulance out of the district or to district hospitals, Babar said.

Jhenidah civil surgeon Dr Rashida Sultan said they are trying to solve the fuel bill issue at the earliest so that the people do not suffer for long.