Nearly all the ambulances at a Mexico City hospital for government employees are unusable — they’re out of gas.

Only two of the 13 ambulances parked outside Darío Fernández General Hospital have gasoline, according to a driver who requested anonymity.

Furthermore, the source revealed that driver’s license renewals are frequently delayed and travel allowances never reimbursed.

“Before, there was a mileage chart and that’s how we knew what we were owed per trip, but they changed it and now in theory they give us a travel allowance for every trip. But for the last six months we have paid money out of our own pockets for gasoline and food, and they haven’t reimbursed us for any of it.”

But the driver said the lack of gasoline is not the only reason for the vehicles being parked.

“Some drivers do not have their papers up-to-date: their licenses are expired, and [the ISSSTE] is supposed to pay for it. We cannot risk going on an emergency call without our papers in order. If there’s an accident, nobody is going to back us up.”

The finance director of the health agency revealed before the Senate Health Commission this week that it is essentially bankrupt and will run out of cash by July.

Source: El Universal (sp)