Mananthavady: The death of Paul (49) after the wild jumbo attack has put the poor condition of Wayanad Government Medical College Hospital in the limelight.

The hospital even lacked an ambulance with ICU facilities to carry the victim, who was trampled by a wild elephant, to Kozhikode Medical College. The hospital had to bear the embarrassment of depending on a charitable organization for an ambulance.

The ambulance arrived three hours late, and the death of Paul has raised questions about the existence of such a hospital that doesn't have one ambulance and facilities that could save lives during emergencies. 

For six months, the ICU ambulance at the hospital has been in need of repair. Reportedly, they were not able to fix the ambulance as the Motor Transport Officer in the Directorate of Health insisted on repairing it from a government-accredited workshop, even when they could use an insurance claim to repair the vehicle.  

It has been three years since Wayanad District Hospital was elevated to a medical college. If the hospital had doctors and facilities for cardiothoracic vascular surgery, probably Paul's life could have been saved. The hospital authorities had tried to bring cardio-vascular surgeons from other hospitals, but the hospital lacked a cardiothoracic-vascular department and other facilities. 

None of the government hospitals in the district have an emergency medicine department equipped to treat patients in critical conditions. Even though the chief minister inaugurated a cath lab in April 2022, facilities like angiograms, angioplasty, etc. were never provided to the patients. 

The cardiologist who was appointed for the cath lab is the one who manages the O.P. department. There are no other doctors appointed for this purpose. Even though it's called a super specialty hospital, in reality, there are no adequate numbers of doctors or proper facilities.