25% of Karnataka’s 108 ambulances under maintenance, sparking emergency response fears

Bengaluru: Close to 25 per cent of the 108 ambulance fleet in Karnataka is under maintenance, according to data, a development that could have adverse consequences for patients.

As per data available with the health department, Karnataka has a fleet of 715 ambulances under the 108 ambulance programme, of which only 530 of them are available for patients at present. 

The reduced fleet impacts the response time of ambulances during an emergency. A senior official from the health department told DH that absence of an ambulance could impact the patient’s health significantly.

The usual response time for these ambulances is 20 minutes and if they are not at strategic positions, the response time could go up.

“Ambulance caters to emergencies and the fleet under the 108 is positioned at strategic points so that they can reach the emergency spot at the earliest. Sometimes, the lack of even one ambulance may delay the treatment for an emergency patient. We have received a few complaints in this regard,” a senior official said on the condition of anonymity.

Harsh Gupta, Principal Secretary (Health), acknowledged to DH that a few ambulances were under maintenance. But, Gupta claimed, this had caused problems only during morning hours. 

“We had conducted an optimisation exercise last year. According to it, we do not need the entire fleet of ambulances all the time. We need the full capacity only during morning hours. The absence of a few ambulances affects operations only during morning hours,” he said.

However, he added that all the district hospitals were asked to redirect state ambulances available at the government hospitals to make up for any shortfall.

“Apart from the 108 ambulance fleet, the state has 800-900 other ambulances at government hospitals,” Gupta said. “We have given standing instructions to all the district health officers to redirect these ambulances to the 108 ambulance fleet if need be. However, there are complaints that the measures have not been taken at a few places, causing inconvenience to the public. We will review the situation soon and take measures,” Gupta said.

But a senior doctor with the emergency unit of a prominent hospital in Bengaluru countered the health department officials’ claim that hospitals are most used in the morning. “The need for an ambulance could arise anytime. There is no morning or evening hours. The government must take all efforts to ensure no interruption in operation of the fleet. Hiring of drivers, maintenance and repairs must be completed on priority,” the doctor, who wished to remain anonymous, told DH.    Health officials said issues might have cropped up as the state health department is also taking over the operation of the 108 ambulance fleet, which is now under a private agency.

Once the ambulances come under the health department, monitoring and operations would improve significantly as the department will use technology to improve transparency and monitoring. “There will be a software which will help us monitor and the control room will be managed by us. We have conducted a trial in Chamarajanagar and it is promising,” Gupta noted.