Now, state's ambulances to be fitted with GPS

The next time there is a medical crisis at home, all you have to do to rope in an ambulance is make a quick call to a toll-free number.

The next time there is a medical crisis at home, all you have to do to rope in an ambulance is make a quick call to a toll-free number.

After repeatedly receiving flak for its fleet of ambulances that almost regularly fail to reach destinations on time, the state public health department has decided to go tech-savvy, and enable its entire fleet with state-of-the-art GPS devices, making it easy for authorities to track them down and dispatch them with minimal delay.

The department has managed to rake in a sanction of Rs 12 crore from the central government under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), for the purpose of running GPS enabled ambulances.

The department is busy with the draft for its ambitious project of upgrading the 2,998 odd ambulances, which ply in various parts of the state.

"By the time a patient is brought in, he or she is in a critical condition, and despite their best efforts, the medical experts fail to save them.
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This reality can be reversed if our ambulances reach their destinations within the 'golden period',while it is still possible to save the patient's life," said a senior doctor health department.

The department is concentrating on implementing a plan to reduce the number of casualties in childbirth. The state has a high maternal mortality rate of 130 deaths per one-lakh childbirths.
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In the time period between April 2010 and March 2011, as many as 1,372 pregnant women in the state - 876 in the suburbs and 496 in the city proper succumbed to childbirth.

The department conducted an audit to trace the cause behind the alarming number of deaths. One of the major factors diagnosed was the time lag suffered before treatment, owing to the delayed arrival of ambulances.

Plan of Action
"We aim to open lines to a common toll-free number for ambulance services in the state. When a stress call is made, the district-based call centres can easily locate the nearest available ambulance using the GPS system, and alert them.
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The GPS will also enable the driver to find the shortest route to the nearest hospital. This will save time, and in turn save lives," said Dr S C Gupta, additional director, state health services.

Gupta cited numerous studies which indicated that more than 50 per cent of expectant mothers die before they reach hospitals. He said, "GPS enabled ambulances are indispensable, as the vehicles can easily be referred and thereafter used to transport patients, curtailing delay."

An official from NRHM said, "It will take at least another four to six months for the project to turn into a reality. We are working on opening control rooms at the district level, at various civic run hospitals. We will even have to train the operators to handle the GPS settings."

This is not the country's first fleet of GPS enabled ambulances. The Red Cross Health Department in Panchkula district upgraded 18 of its ambulances with GPS devices in November 2009.

The Bihar government initiated a pilot project with ten ambulances in June 2009. GPS enabled ambulances can also be seen in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

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