Patient from Coimbatore was flown to Apollo Hospital in Chennai
A 69-year-old man became the first patient to be transferred by an air ambulance from Coimbatore to Chennai for treatment.
The patient, a Chennai-based hotelier, was diagnosed with kidney and liver-related ailments and was undergoing treatment at Sri Ramakrishna Hospitals in Coimbatore.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer Ram Kumar and surgical gastroenterologist S. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu that the patient had been under treatment for a long period and following renal failure, he was put on dialysis. After ensuring that his condition was stable, it was declared that he was fit to travel, the hospital authorities said.
The patient had settled in Coimbatore to a retired life but his family membersin Chennai and Chicago wanted the best for him and sought to shift him to Apollo Hospital in Chennai for liver and kidney transplant.
“We stabilised the patient and found a window period when the patient could be shifted from one ICU to another within few hours. His chances of getting an organ are greater in a centre like Apollo Hospital, rather than in an upcoming centre like ours,” said Dr. Radhakrishnan.
When the family’s wishes were conveyed to Apollo Hospital, it requisitioned an air ambulance from Aviators Air Rescue, which had launched its operations in January. The patient was on life support during the transfer. He was accompanied by two paramedics.
B.N. Sridhar, CEO of Aviators Air Rescue, said this was the first time that an air ambulance was used to transfer a patient within Tamil Nadu. According to him, this was the second such operation in the country since the company had launched its services in January.
Aviators Air Rescue has partnered with the Apollo Hospital group to provide air ambulance services for transport of critical patients, organ transport and medical crew transport.
The company has placed 3 helicopters in South India with a versatility to address any remote pocket, the organisation said. On why the ambulance service did not permit family to travel with the patient, an official said unlike surface transport, air transport required more attention to maintaining patient’s vital parameters. As of now only a few paramedics had been trained and only in the case of paediatric patient the mother is permitted to accompany.
“We are the sole partners for the Aviators Air Rescue. We have come up with specific protocols and we have developed a number of critical pre-hospital care protocols localised to the Indian context to address a whole range of emergencies,” said V. Subbiah, chief operating officer, Apollo Hospital.
As for the use of the ambulance service he said, “It would be driven by the need of the patient.”
