Private ambulance operators charge ₹3,500-₹6,500 for trips to mandal or district headquarters, while a journey from Suryapet to Hyderabad can cost ₹10,000
Families say fares that were around ₹1,000-₹2,500 a few years ago have risen to ₹5,000 or more, with long-distance trips costing as much as ₹15,000. His son Srikanth approached ambulance drivers in Gajwel and was quoted ₹10,000. After prolonged bargaining, the fare was brought down to ₹7,500. His father Mallaiah, who had been admitted to Gandhi Hospital with a urinary tract infection, needed an ambulance and the family was quoted ₹15,000.
Because of long distances and poor road conditions, dr K Seetharam, a senior govt doctor from Asifabad district, said patients from remote areas are particularly vulnerable. Because of the roads and long distances to hospitals, ambulance drivers quote steep fares,” he said, urging authorities to take immediate action, in such cases,. Hyderabad: For families rushing critically ill patients from Telangana ’s smaller towns to bigger hospitals, the ambulance is increasingly becoming a second financial emergency. In Suryapet recently, G Poshaiah’s brother suffered a serious head injury in a road accident while returning from their agricultural farm. After providing first aid at a govt hospital, doctors advised the family to shift him to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad. For another family, the urgency was less, but the bargaining was long. Tirupathi of Bayyaram in Gajwel, who was suffering from a liver-related disease, was advised by local doctors to seek treatment at a hospital in ECIL. For Gatla Vinay of Komaram Bheem Asifabad district, there was no scope for bargaining. “It is pathetic for patients and their families to pay such huge amounts in emergencies when they are already in despair. In our district, road conditions are very bad. During the rainy season, the roads do not allow us to drive normally.
Private ambulances remain an important link between district hospitals and higher centres, particularly when patients require specialised treatment. But with families reporting a sharp rise in fares, the issue is increasingly not just the cost of an emergency ride, but how much choice a family actually has when reaching the next hospital can be a matter of life and death.