Bhubaneswar, March 5: Since the launch of the 108 ambulance free ambulance service in the State, as many as 10 lakh people have benefited from the service.
According to a release, several poor and needy patients from far flung places have greatly benefited from the free emergency ambulance service.
This PPP named Odisha Emergency Medical Ambulance Service(OEMAS) project is operated by Mumbai based company Ms. Ziqitza Health Care Limited and monitored by National Health Mission(NHM).
The aim of this service is to provide quality medical care during transportation from the scene of the accident to the nearest empanel government hospital within shortest possible time.
The inflow of patients to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack has gone up by 49 pc after operationalization of the 108 ambulance service in the state.
Looking at the ever going popularity of the service in the state, NHM is planning to add 92 additional BLS ambulances and three boat ambulances. The boat ambulances will cater to the medical needs of people residing in areas which can only be reached by boat in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri and Kendrapara.
The service is controlled by a round the clock centralized emergency response centre based at Bhubaneswar.
The allocation of ambulances is one ambulance per one lakh population which is as per WHO guidelines. In this Context, Sabyasachi Biswal, State Head, said,” Since the launch of the service in the State, we have put in our best efforts to reach in scene of the accident in the shortest possible time. We have also organized awareness camp and FRPs to sensitize the general public of the protocols governing the service. The problems of the initial days are over and we are happy to have served 10 lakh people.”
