In 1978, PRMM Shanthakumar started Flyinng Squad Ambulance Service with just one ambulance at the age of 18. Today, with 36 state-of-the-art vehicles, he has transported lakhs of ailing patients across the State and country and worked relentlessly during the COVID-19 crisis too.
A book titled India’s Ambulance Man,which has Dr. Shanthakumar narrating his experiences of over four decades, was launched in the city on Saturday.
“There have been numerous struggles these few decades. While I have been thinking about writing it for many years now, it materialised recently, and I began writing only about six months ago. It only contains my experiences, but I also wanted to include information on key issues related to ambulances, and how one can reach out to these vehicles,” he says.
His inspiration was his father, a taxi driver who used to transport patients to hospitals in his vehicle. “I thought why not start an ambulance service itself to help people out. Today, we have carried patients to many parts of the country, even during trying times,” Dr. Shanthakumar says.
He says one of the most difficult things was operating the ambulance service during the pandemic. “I still remember a call we got from Adyar. The patient had to be ferried to a hospital in T. Nagar. Within eight minutes, we transported them to the destination,” he recalled.
