The launch of EMRI 108 ambulance service over a decade ago in AP has changed the way emergencies, including road accidents, are attended and resulted in saving lakhs of victims from the jaws of death.
Leveraging technology, the GVK EMRI, based out of Hyderabad, locates the emergency site and the nearest ambulance is dispatched within 3 minutes after receiving the distress call. Trained EMTs, under the guidance of the physician at the Emergency Response Centre, provide emergency care to road accident victims.
“Arrest of active haemorrhage, fixing, moving and lifting, maintenance of ABC (airway, breathing and circulation), pain management, wound care, monitoring of vitals and documentation of important aspects are basic pre-hospital trauma care are beneficial to the patient before reaching the hospital,” according to Director of GVK EMRI G.V. Ramana Rao.
The 108 GVK EMRI ambulance services are now serving 750 million people spread across 15 States and two Union Territories. There are two other agencies like GVK EMRI, which are serving four other States at present. The average response time taken by the 108 EMRI ambulances is 15 minutes in urban areas and 25 minutes in rural areas. In an e-mail interview to The Hindu , Dr. Ramana Rao said: “There is no shortage of trained EMTs. We have over 1,000 EMTs on our rolls besides a provision for trained EMTs, referred to as a bench.
GVK EMRI has hospital working agreements with most of the private hospitals in all the districts. All the government hospitals are any how part of the destination hospitals in AP.
The attrition rate among EMTs and pilots (ambulance drivers) is less than 5 per cent. Ambulance staff are motivated to provide better services by publishing their names in the ‘emcare’ magazine in AP State based on the lives saved cases. One best EMT is published from each district and the State best case EMT is awarded at the monthly/quarterly meetings of the COO/Chairman of GVK EMRI in the form of a medal, life saviour certificate and a cash award.
A total of 6,48,786 cases were attended in one year between June 2015 and May 2016 of which 83,065 were trauma vehicular cases through 438 ambulances in AP, he added.
