DAVANGERE/CHITRADURGA: Air ambulance services will bring about a revolution in the entire healthcare sector of the state and country, helping to reduce mortality rates by providing quality tertiary care to patients in need, but proper formulations should be drafted, says Dr Shalini Nalwad.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dr Shalini, the pioneer behind the air ambulance programme in the country and chairperson of the International Critical Care Air Transfer Team (ICATT), said there have been cases of loss of lives due to the failure in transplanting patients and organs speedily and air ambulances are the only means to overcome this. She lauded the move to boost air ambulance services in Karnataka as announced in the state budget presented by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in the legislative assembly on Friday, saying it will bring a sea change in the healthcare sector.
Air ambulance services don't need permission from the authorities to ferry critical patients to tertiary care centres in a time bound manner and help save their lives, hence it is highly recommended in big states like Karnataka, where travel time from point to another could take hours, whereas air ambulances cover the distance within 1-2 hours, she noted.
Thanking both Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar for announcing the project, she said that there is a need to improve basic infrastructure for operation of choppers from any point in the state.
"Air ambulances involve aero medical operations and need highly skilled specialised trained doctors and paramedical staff to ensure that patients are first restituted and stabilised before they can be airlifted for better treatment," she explained.
Wastage of organs can be reduced
Dr Shalini further said that there have been reports of deaths due to non-availability of organs in the state and country. Along with this, there are also reports of a lot of organs getting wasted and this can be reduced through this service, as harvested organs reach the designated hospitals in time.
She also stressed the need to sensitise the public about the services of air ambulances and the ways to utilise it, along with organ donation. This will help in saving more lives in future, she said, adding, "Karnataka is the first state in the country to utilise air ambulance services for its public."