18 February,2011 06:50 AM IST | | Sanjeev Devasia
State to launch free emergency medical services in six cities including Mumbai; dedicated call centres and on-board doctor to attend to emergencies
After more than a year and a half of contemplation, the state has finally decided to launch Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in six cities in the state including Mumbai.
The ambulance will be fully equipped to meet any emergency and will have an on-board doctor, who will be in touch with a call centre manned by experts in various fields of medicine
The proposal to launch the service in the state was long pending because of various complications such as appointment of a service provider and nature of service to be provided.
Modelled on the lines of the popular '108' EMS provided in Andhra Pradesh, the state health ministry will offer a similar service free of cost to citizens; however, the cost of the service provided by an NGO or firm operating in the field of EMS, would be borne by the state government.
All the citizen will be required to do is call the pre-designated helpline number in case of an emergency or accident and an ambulance will be dispatched to the spot within 15 minutes.
The ambulance will be fully equipped to meet any emergency and will have an on-board doctor, who will be in touch with a call centre manned by experts in various fields of medicine.
The experts will guide on-board doctors in handling and treating victims en route to the hospital.
The responsibility of the emergency service provider to the patient or the accident victims ends once the patient is shifted to the hospital and stabilised.
"The service will initially be provided in cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad and Pune and tenders for the same will be invited after cabinet approves," said sources.
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Earlier, the state government was in talks with the EMRI; however, plans ran aground after Satyam Computers, the main promoters of EMRI, landed in trouble.
Features of EMS
Features of EMS services provided in Andhra Pradesh:
>24x7 emergency services.
>Toll Free number accessible from landline or mobile
>Emergency help will reach patient in an average of 18 minutes
No EMS in city
AS per a study by a group of researchers at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the injured victim in Mumbai usually is rescued by a passer-by (43.5 per cent of the times), helped by the police. A cab is the most popular substitute for ambulance (39.3 per cent).
