GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), the organisation that operates the 108 ambulances, just got a boost on Tuesday, with 170 ambulances being added to its existing fleet.
Of these, 10 vehicles will be stationed in Chennai. The ambulances will be positioned in various parts of the city and its outskirts, to enable transferring of accident victims to hospitals, faster.
In the three districts of Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chennai, between January and August this year, 60,847 persons have availed of the ambulance’s services. While the ambulance was mostly called to transport trauma victims, it was also in great demand to take pregnant women to hospital. In fact, awareness about the ambulance service has grown, with people calling for it even during other emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes and diabetes-related complications.
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Kancheepuram district recorded the largest number of pregnancy-related transfers whereas in Tiruvallur district, the ambulance was called more often to transport a patient from one facility (hospital) to another. In Chennai, the vehicle was used mostly to transport trauma victims.
A total of 7,030 persons were brought by ambulance for emergencies other than trauma, cardiac/cardiovascular and pregnancy-related reasons. M. Mohammed Bilal, GVK EMRI district manager, said more than 11,000 patients, who were taken to hospitals in Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts, were transferred to hospitals with better medical facilities.
The need for transfers and the high accident rate in neighbouring districts was the reason the EMRI management decided to deploy more ambulances in the area.
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“Some parts of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts have now been brought under the Chennai Corporation. We have also brought in some localities such as Alandur, Pallavaram and Tambaram in the south and Ambattur, Tiruvottiyur and Valasaravakkam in the north under the greater Chennai region,” B. Prabhudoss, GVK EMRI regional manager, said.
For each ambulance inducted on Tuesday, five personnel have been added.
EMRI 108 began operation in the State in 2010 and the first neonatal ambulance was launched in 2011.