Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Saviour on Madurai roads madurai matters

Shantha Premakumari, Katchakatti PHC: the ambulance arrives at the PHC within 15 to 20 minutes after the call.

MADURAI: The timely availability of free ambulances through a dedicated service, ‘Call 108,’ has given a hope for emergency hospital care in urban and rural areas of Madurai district.

Ever since the emergency ambulance management service was launched here on November under Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project in collaboration with Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), the service is well utilised by all classes of people.

A sample of four emergency cases handled in the past few days by the Primary Health Centre at Katchakatti near Vadipatti shows that the ‘108 service’ is catching up among hospitals and common man. People were rushed to Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in time and given medical attention.

Snake bite for a 55-year old man; referring two complicated delivery cases that had to be shifted from PHCs to the GRH; and shifting a chest pain case to a major hospital are instances of people relying on this ambulance service.

“When we know that a particular case cannot be handled at a PHC, we immediately dial 108 and move the patients,” says Shantha Premakumari, Block Medical Officer, Katchakatti PHC. In all these cases, the mother and child were safe and the snake-bite victim too was saved. The ambulance is reaching the primary health centre within 15 to 20 minutes of making the call, Dr. Premakumari says.

R. Ashok Kumar, ambulance operations executive, says that 369 patients have been shifted to hospitals so far by the ‘108 ambulance service’ in Madurai district.

Twelve well-equipped ambulances have been stationed at major points, of which three are in the city. The places include: Tallakulam, Collectorate, Periyar bus stand, Melur, Kottampatti, Usilampatti, Samayanallur, Tirumangalam, Peraiyur, Vadipatti, Alanganallur.

“Road accidents (115) and pregnancies (51) constitute majority of the cases. People can call ambulance for all sorts of emergencies including fire and police help,” Mr. Ashok Kumar says. The utilisation of ambulance service in the last three weeks is found to be more in Tirumangalam area.

Patients would be taken to a hospital of their choice. The operations of Call 108 ambulance service are centralised in Chennai. During an emergency, a person can dial 108 from a landline or mobile or local telephone booth without STD code. An ambulance will be rushed to the patient’s place immediately.

“The ultramodern ambulances were bought with funds from the World Bank and National Rural Health Mission. The public need not have any misconceptions and the service is provided completely free of cost,” says P. Palani Kumar, Madurai District Health Systems Project Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Government Hospital, Melur.

There is no geographical limitation for the ambulance and a patient or victim will be transported to the nearest Government or private hospital.

In cases where patient is taken to a private hospital, 48 hours of free treatment by that private hospital is mandatory, he explains.

The State Government pays the EMRI ambulance Rs.7 per kilometre. “Our idea is to save lives. Poor people will benefit a lot from this service,” Dr. Palani Kumar says.

A district-level committee headed by the Collector will monitor this service and its reach among the people.

S. Subramanian, EMRI Chief Operating Officer, says that every ambulance has paramedics and drivers trained in first-aid. As it is getting popular among the public, ‘108 service’ will be the right friend during the golden hour.

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