Every month, at least 80 babies in Telangana are born in ambulances during transit. The GVK-EMRI 108 administration says 33% of the cases for which people seek help from the 108 are related to pregnancy. The Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) of the organisation say they handle two to three deliveries a day in ambulances.
“It took almost two years for us to develop a manual called ‘Pre Hospital Emergency Care Protocols’, for which we had to collaborate with the Stanford School of Medicine. Before the EMTs start their job, they have to undergo a two-month training course where they are taught how to handle medical trauma, and maternal and paediatric emergencies,” says G.V. Ramana Rao, director of Emergency Medicine Learning Centre and Research, GVI-EMRI 108.
Neonatal resuscitation
The EMTs are also trained in performing regular and complicated child births, and how to perform neonatal resuscitation. Chief operating officer (COO) of GVK-EMRI 108, P. Brahmananda Rao, says they operate a total of 332 ambulances in the State and in a day, they attend around 1,400 emergencies.
“The training course is followed by a one-month internship at a government hospital where they observe doctors who attend accident cases and perform deliveries. Besides, they have to undergo a three-day refresher course every six months,” adds Mr. Brahmanandam.
Delivery kits
Though the EMTs are trained in handling regular and emergency child births, they call the qualified doctors at the State-level emergency response centre of the organisation for assistance. Two disposable delivery kits, which have medical paraphernalia required for child birth, are kept ready in the ambulances.
This comes in handy especially when a woman gives birth in the ambulance. As recent as on Saturday, an EMT had to attend to a woman who gave birth at a bus stop at L.B. Nagar. After providing the necessary medical care, the mother and the newborn were shifted to Area Hospital at Vanasthalipuram.
An EMT, C.H. Ravi, who assisted two deliveries in the ambulance in the past one week, says sometimes they receive calls after pregnant women develop labour pains.
“After we reach the spot, if they show signs of imminent delivery, we take that into consideration and decide if the delivery has to be performed immediately,” Mr. Ravi says. “We stop the ambulance by the roadside to perform the delivery,” he adds.
“To perform a delivery in the ambulance, EMTs would wear a disposable gown, gloves and a cap. A sterile bed sheet would be spread on the cot on which a pregnant woman would sleep. If the delivery has to be performed at home or en route to hospital, the staff take the help of the pregnant woman’s family members to ensure her privacy,” Dr. Ramana Rao says.
