The State government and the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology in Thiruvananthapuram will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) within a week for an air ambulance service within the State, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar said here on Thursday.
The service can be commenced within a month of the Director General of Civil Aviation giving the final nod, he said.
The air ambulance facility is being launched under the auspices of Mrithasanjeevani, the State government’s deceased donor organ donation programme and with the cooperation of the Home, Revenue, and Disaster Management Departments. The service will operate between government medical college hospitals and prominent private hospitals in the event of emergency medical situations, including transportation of organs. The Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology will operate four four-seat single engine Cessna 172 R aircraft in the first phase and a six-seat double engine Piper-Seneca 5 in the second phase of the air ambulance project. The service of one of these aircraft will be available round-the-clock.
