Government ambulances that were hitherto under the control of individual hospitals or medical centres will now be linked to the 108 Arogya Kavacha ambulance service.
A circular issued by Subodh Yadav commissioner, Department of Health and Family Welfare, said 800 ambulances that were managed by individual hospitals will now be brought under the Arogya Kavacha service managed by the GVK EMRI. At present, 711 ambulances are run by the service, he added.
Shalini Rajaneesh, principal secretary of the department, said the decision has been taken to help rural masses access the service easily. “Earlier, they had to have numbers of the PHC or taluk hospitals to which the hospital is linked. Now, it has all been integrated on a common platform and can be accessed by dialing 108,” she said.
Health Minister K R Ramesh Kumar had earlier said that one ambulance will be made available within a radius of 10-15 km. Shalini Rajaneesh said that by linking these ambulances and having them on the geo-spatial tracking system, the government will provide better access to emergency services.
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