The sight of a 108 ambulance on a busy road normally brings to our mind the thought of an accident victim being moved to hospital.
But statistics given by GVK EMRI, operators of the emergency response service, shows that 108 ambulance is becoming safe and preferred medium of transport of antenatal mothers.
Emergency cases
Of the total number of 4,441 emergencies attended by 108 ambulances in August this year in Coimbatore, 908 cases were pregnancy related emergencies. Meanwhile, cases related to road traffic accidents (RTA) stood at 835.
Antenatal mothers became the biggest beneficiaries of our services occupying an average share of 20.44%. The rate is higher than RTA cases attended by our fleet.
The ambulances are equipped with sterilised delivery kit that can be used to attend delivery on board if needed.
Emergency medical technicians working in every ambulance are also well trained to handle delivery, said V. Muthukrishnan, GVK EMRI's programme manger for Coimbatore.
GVK EMRI has also planned State wide activity to take the service to more antenatal mothers and instil confidence among them on safe transport during pregnancy.
Antenatal mothers will be reached through contact programmes planned at Primary Health Centres (PHC) throughout September.
According to Mr. Muthukrishnan, the fleet of 108 ambulances in the district attended 4,464 cases, the highest number of emergencies after the launch of the service in Coimbatore.
As of now, GVK EMRI operates 36 ambulances in the district.
This includes services launched at new locations such as Karanampettai, Kaniyur, Thudiyalur PHC, ESI Medical College Hospital Singanallur and Samathur.
Deployment of new ambulances at these locations has enabled GVK EMRI to reduce the response time taken to reach a spot to attend to an emergency case after receiving call.
Operated in collaboration with National Health Mission, GVK EMRI has also started to build awareness and confidence among the public on effective management of medical emergencies.
As part of this, Good Samaritan Day is being planned to acknowledge people who alert 108 call centre upon coming across an emergency situation.
Friends of 108 Club is another activity planned to take place colleges as part of building capacity in the community.
