Patna: A minor rape survivor referred from Muzaffarpur to Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) was left waiting in an ambulance for over four hours on Saturday, allegedly due to the unavailability of a hospital bed.A video of the incident went viral on social media, casting a harsh spotlight on the state of Bihar’s public health system, particularly at a premier institution like PMCH, which is currently being developed as a world-class facility.Congress state president Rajesh Ram, who was present at the hospital alongside the party’s media cell chairman Rajesh Rathorre, said he attempted to contact health minister Mangal Pandey but his call went unanswered.Rathorre said the survivor had been referred from SKMCH in Muzaffarpur and reached PMCH around 11am. “It took the hospital administration more than four hours to provide her a bed and she was finally admitted there after 3pm,” he told this newspaper from the hospital premises.In the video, Dr Ashok Kumar Jha, the deputy superintendent of PMCH, was heard saying that doctors from three departments were involved in examining the patient. “The superintendent is on leave and I rushed to the rape survivor on getting the information,” he told reporters. When informed that the girl had remained inside the ambulance for over four hours, Dr Jha said emergency doctors had visited her in the vehicle.The girl was raped on May 26. Her throat and chest were brutally slashed by the accused after the assault. According to police, the perpetrator lured her away on the pretext of offering chocolate near her aunt’s house and took her to a maize field. After the assault, he attempted to kill her by slitting her throat. Her vocal cords were damaged and she is currently unable to speak. The accused, Rohit Sahni (30), has been arrested.Speaking outside the ambulance at PMCH, the girl’s uncle said, “We were referred to PMCH from SKMCH, Muzaffarpur. We were told that there is no better arrangement for treatment there. But after coming here, we are being made to run here and there. Now her oxygen is also about to finish. When we talked about the oxygen cylinder here, we were told that it will cost Rs2,000. Where will we poor people get so much money from?”