The district has been allotted nearly 70 ambulances (108 and 104) as part of the new emergency ambulances, launched by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The ambulances arrived here from Amaravati and were initially taken to the AU College of Engineering (AUCE) grounds on Thursday morning. The ambulance staff segregated the emergency medical equipment for loading into the different vehicles. The ambulances are equipped with ventilators, oxygen cylinders, stretchers and other equipment.
Response time in urban areas will now come down to 15 minutes, while it will be 20 minutes in rural areas and 25 minutes in Agency areas, officials said.
The ambulances were taken to the Beach Road later in the evening and lined up. Minister for Tourism Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao formally flagged off the ambulances. He said that each ambulance would serve 74,000 people.
Collector V. Vinay Chand said the new ambulances were equipped with advanced equipment. He said that 235 persons were appointed for the ambulance service in the district. They include 52 doctors, 46 data entry operators, 45 technicians and 92 drivers. Their wages would be increased based on their service, he said.
Anakapalle MP B.V. Satyavathi, MLAs Tippala Nagi Reddy and K. Bhagyalakshmi, JC-II Arun Babu and DM&HO Vijayalakshmi attended the programme.
