| A KID while crossing the road at Whitefield is | | | | EMRI chief operation officer (COO, Karnataka) |
| knocked off by a whizzing car. Next moment he | | | | Bharat Radhakrishnan said that the deployment of |
| is lying at the roadside fighting for his life. After a | | | | 32 ambulances at various vantage points of the |
| while, a hospital ambulance arrives at the scene | | | | city enables EMRI response team to reach the |
| from Shivajinagar only to find him dead. Like this | | | | disaster spot in few minutes. "Likewise, we have |
| kid, there are approximately 50,000 people dying | | | | deployed 34 more ambulances in 17 districts of |
| without even getting a pre-medical treatment in | | | | Karnataka like Tumkur, Chitradurga, Davangere |
| Bengaluru. This happens because there are | | | | and Bellary, in the first phase," he said. |
| inadequate numbers of ambulances owned by city | | | | Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on |
| hospitals and deployed at vantage points. | | | | an average the government will deploy one |
| Emergency Management and Research Institute | | | | ambulance for a lakh people. By next March, |
| (EMRI) is here to redefine the concept of | | | | Karnataka hopes to increase the fleet to 110 and |
| providing emergency medical services in | | | | by 210, the service will cover the entire state |
| Bengaluru, in particular and Karnataka at large. The | | | | with 517 ambulances in place in various districts," |
| ’Arogya Kavacha-108’ medical, police and | | | | he announced. |
| fire services, was launched by former President A | | | | Elucidating on the state-of-the-art ambulances, |
| P J Abdul Kalam in Bengaluru last week. The | | | | Radhakrishnan added that the state-of-the-art |
| service is a public-private initiative. | | | | ambulances can nearly handle any emergency |
| Accident victims will get the most necessary | | | | situation. The vans are equipped with medical |
| pre-medical services at a quick pace. The caller | | | | equipment ranging from defibrillators and |
| need not wait too long for getting connected to | | | | ventilators, to extrication tools. |
| an EMRI centre. All the calls will be answered by | | | | There will be a pilot (the driver) and one |
| phone jockeys within two rings. | | | | emergency medical technician. The EMT will give |
| The 108 Emergency Response Service is a toll | | | | pre-hospital care under the guidance of |
| free number and callers can access it from their | | | | emergency response centre physicians, as in |
| landline and mobile phones. "Once the caller dials | | | | pregnancy cases. |
| 108 to report an emergency, the call lands at the | | | | Further adding, Radhakrishnan said ’Dial |
| Emergency Response Centre in Magadi Road, | | | | 108’ service has received tremendous |
| where at least 35 phone jockeys are working. | | | | response. In just 24-hour span since its |
| The jockeys will collect the information regarding | | | | inauguration, the service has received a whopping |
| the kind of emergency and the location and ask | | | | 20,000 calls, of which 100 were effective. Around |
| for ambulance, a fire tender or police vehicle to | | | | 35 calls were related to road traffic accidents |
| be sent as appropriate," said EMRI chief executive | | | | (RTA), pregnancy cases and cardiac attacks, while |
| officer (CEO) M Venkat Chengavalli. | | | | ten were police cases like robbery. |