Falck ambulance services pulls out of Sri Lanka, says India’s free ambulance svc will affect business

  Falck, the world’s largest ambulance service, said this week it was pulling out of Sri Lanka this month – just two years after its entry – stymied by the new Indian Government-backed free ambulance service. “We are indeed exhilarated that the Sri Lanka government is offering this service free of charge to all citizens, in partnership with a grant from the Indian Government,” it said in a September 30 letter to Falck subscribers of the service. However it pointed that as a direct result of this initiative, Falck was no longer able to sustain itself as a commercial operation. It said it would cease operations from October 31, 2015 and requested subscribers to collect the balance of their annual payments from their office. Some months ago India signed an agreement with the government to provide a free ambulance service to Sri Lankans. It was unclear at the time whether for patients going to government hospitals or even those seeking private care.