Youngsters to create awareness on making way for ambulances

Hundreds of patients lose their lives on the way to hospital as the golden hour is lost stuck in traffic.

To create awareness among the public about making way for ambulances on the road, school and college students in the City will organise a flash mob on Brigade Road on February 26.

Ronal, an MBA student at Jain College and one of the co-ordinators of the event, felt that it was important for youth to participate in the event as they are the catalysts of change. The students have organised themselves into a forum JUICE KONECT and are organising the flash mob with the help of Claims Express, a City-based venture.

Emphasising the need for such an awareness, Dr Venkatesh of Apollo Hospitals said though the ambulance services are upgraded and have a lot of inbuilt treatment facilities, the patient’s life is still in danger in case of chronic conditions.

Also, while most ambulance services come with equipment for ICU care, it is not possible for all ambulances to have these services.

Moreover, when multiple calls of emergency are received at the same time, the hospital may not be able to deploy the ambulance with ICU care in all cases, he says.

In case of cardiac arrest, despite the intensive care provided in the ambulance, the patient needs to be taken to the hospital within three hours. “But it takes the ambulance at least three hours to reach the hospital negotiating the traffic. People tend to forget that it could be their own family member some day,” Dr Venkatesh remarks. Member of Claims Express, Rishab Jain, says they came up with the idea of a flash mob to make way for more youth participation.

“Campaigns don’t have to mean standing in the hot sun for long hours. They can be short and effective. Since youth have to take the initiative to create change, we are organising an event which will catch their attention,” he said.