Andhra Pradesh

An ambulance for each mandal soon

HYDERABAD: Minister for Health and Family Welfare S. Chandrasekhar on Saturday said that the State government was according top priority to healthcare delivery and said it was working towards having one ambulance in each of the 1100-odd mandals in Andhra Pradesh.

He was speaking after flagging off 23 new, state-of-the-art ambulances as part of the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) that runs the ‘108’ service. They will be stationed in district headquarter towns and are among the 150 new ambulances proposed to be added by the month-end.

Mr. Chandrasekhar said emergency management apart, the State government would soon provide ‘Fixed Day Health Services’, using 100 medical-support vehicles under the brand ‘104’.

It was virtual medicare at people’s doorsteps, he said. Also, AP would get Rs. 100 crore under the National Rural Health Mission.

EMRI’s COO, Sudhakar Nukala said the average time for an ambulance to reach an emergency spot was 16.5 minutes (18 minutes in the rural areas and 13.5 in cities). They were trying to further reduce it to around ten minutes, also referred as ‘Platinum 10 minutes’.

When fully inducted into the fleet, the 150 new ambulances would help EMRI get closer to the ‘Platinum 10 minutes’, respond to more calls and cover more emergencies, he said, adding that currently, each of the 502 vehicles were handling around ten emergencies daily, he said.

EMRI’s Lead Partner, PPP, V. Jwala Narasimha Rao said they had come a long way since August 2005, when they had launched ‘108’ here with ten ambulances.

By the month-end, there would be 652 ambulances, he said.

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