The Trauma Rescue Initiative (TRI) of the State branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) is set to take off in full swing with the helpline number 9188100100 to be flashed on State and national highways every five to ten km.
Already, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Alappuzha have 95-98% deployment rate of ambulances, where a rescue emergency is attended to in 5-8 minutes, Sreejith N. Kumar, chairman of the initiative, told The Hindu .
The infrastructure for the first phase of the project — Road to Bed — with support from the police and ambulance drivers’ association, was in place, he said.
The IMA had given an equipped ambulance to the Thiruvananthapuram police as they got the first call of any accident, he said. There were issues to be ironed out, like mapping difficult areas or the coastal belt where coverage was low. Fine-tuning was on to have a network that could be reached by anyone, anytime.
The network would only complement the other ambulance networks existing in various districts, he said. TRI district panels provide logistic support for drivers, even refresher courses in training.
Ambulance drivers
The Ambulance Owners and Drivers Association (AODA) and Kerala Ambulance Drivers and Technicians Association are the backbone of the project, he said.
Anu Samuel, secretary, AODA, said networking was smooth and the reach to rural areas was good. The console controlling the ambulance drivers across the State rests with the Police Control room in Thiruvananthapuram.
Funds for the project have been tied with the Dr. Ramesh Kumar Foundation. While the ambulance service is paid, for the unknown person on the road, the foundation would pay up.
The Initiative had begun after trauma victim Murugan had died after being denied treatment at various hospitals in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram in August 2017. The foundation supporting the initiative was formed by the father of a doctor who died in a road accident.
