Pregnancy-related emergencies topped the State’s list of medical issues requiring ambulance assistance.
According to GVK EMRI, service provider that runs the 108 ambulance service, there were over 1.2 lakh emergencies involving pregnant women in Telangana. This number was higher than all other medical emergencies including cardiac pain, acute abdominal pain and vehicular trauma combined. Over 4.64 lakh emergencies were attended by EMRI in 2017.
Suicide attempts, animal attacks, respiratory distress and stroke are among the other emergencies EMRI attended in 2017. An analysis of data to estimate survival rate and the average response time of ambulances during last year is under way.
Vehicular trauma is the second leading cause of ambulance services in the State, data shows. Last year, over 60,000 cases of medical emergencies caused by road accidents were attended to by EMRI. In Hyderabad, however, the number of trauma emergencies tops all other emergencies, according to Brahmananda Rao, the EMRI’s operational head in Telangana.
“Unlike rural parts of the State, vehicular trauma cases are more common in the city, which also has the biggest share of ambulances,” Mr. Rao said. Hyderabad has 42 of the State’s fleet of 316 ambulances.
That vehicular trauma is the biggest concern for emergency medical personnel serving in the city, was also highlighted on December 31. Between 12 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Monday, EMRI’s call centre received about 250 calls pertaining to road accidents. At least three deaths were noted by police in the city.
Telangana is among the top 10 states in the country in number of people killed and injured in road accidents, according to the data released by the Ministry of Road Transport last year. Hyderabad, however, has smaller number of accidents compared to larger metros. In the core of the city administered by the Hyderabad Police, there were 405 fatalities in 2017. The number was higher in Cyberabad and Rachakonda.
