ICRC help sought for night ambulance service in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 January 2006, 14:53 GMT]
Provincial health authorities in the Jaffna district have sought the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide ambulance facility to transport people who need emergency medical attention during nights to nearby hospital under the prevailing unstable situation in Jaffna district, civil society sources said.

Residents in Jaffna are forced to stay in their houses after dusk till dawn due to fear of violence, and to escape intimidation and harassment from security forces. Civilians who fall ill in nights and need medical treatment have to wait till the following morning to go to hospitals.

Many civilians have died recently due to lack of immediate medical attention due to non-availability of transport, health department sources said.

Jaffna provincial health authorities have formulated a special plan to obtain the services of ICRC ambulances to transport people who fall seriously ill in their houses during nights.

Provincial health authority is now waiting for response of the ICRC to implement this plan. Provincial health authority expects that the untimely deaths in nights without proper medical attention could be reduced if the ICRC agrees to provide an ambulance service, sources said.