“SnackGate” continues to fill the pages of Thai social media as everyone is taking sides over the Ambulance drivers’ “quick snack stop”.
So, just how serious is a 3 second delay when an ambulance is transporting someone to hospital? A furious woman in the central province of Nakhon Nayok is accusing one ambulance driver of putting her father’s life at risk after he stopped to buy fried bananas while taking the elderly patient to hospital.
Nation Thailand reports that an internal investigation carried out at Nakhon Nayok Hospital has found the driver at fault, even though the short delay was not found to have put the patient’s life at risk.
The story came to light after 32 year old Suchada Nammali shared a clip on social media in which she can be seen berating the ambulance driver and hospital staff as she demands an explanation. Suchada is seen asking the driver why he slowed down to admire plants as he approached her house and why he stopped to buy himself a snack.
PHOTO: Hot Thai Kitchen
The irate woman has also gone to the press, criticising the hospital for a delay in sending an ambulance to pick up her father who fell ill on October 13 as a result of a chronic condition.
In addition, she says paramedics wasted time arguing with her when she asked if her 22 year old nephew could accompany her father in the ambulance. She says ambulance staff insisted she come instead, but after running into the house to get changed, she emerged to find they had left without her.
On arrival at the hospital, her nephew told her the driver had stopped en-route to pick up fried bananas he had pre-ordered earlier.
The hospital insists that the delay would have had no impact on the patient as his condition was not considered serious.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
