BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday dedicated 150 advanced life support (ALS) ambulances to the people of the state in the first phase. The state government has planned to introduce 428 new ambulances in two phases.
Procured at a cost of Rs 111 crore, the 428 new ambulances include five ALS ambulances for use at airports/airstrips run by the Commerce and Transport department, two ALS ambulances for Jharsuguda cardiac care hospital, and replacements for 419 old ambulances and two fully damaged ones.
Flagging off the new ambulances at Kalinga Stadium here, the chief minister said provisioning of advanced healthcare services was the motto of the people’s government. “Our government is always committed to providing the best healthcare services to the people of the state. The new 108 ambulances will make emergency healthcare services swifter and more effective,” he said.
The 108 ALS ambulance fleet is part of the state’s Emergency Medical Ambulance Services (EMAS) scheme for which the cabinet has approved an allocation of `2,398.45 crore for a period of five years till 2027-28.
The second phase of the EMAS scheme is being implemented in the state from 2023-24. It will cater to around 12 lakh emergency patients including pregnant women and children with a response time of 20 minutes. Every day, 5,000 patients are being taken to various hospitals in the state through 108 ambulances.
To further improve emergency ambulance service in the state, Majhi said the old ambulances are being replaced with new ones in a phased manner. “The state government has spent `111 crore for 428 ambulances. While 150 new emergency ambulances are being deployed in the first phase, the remaining ones will be added to the fleet soon. Steps are also being taken to ensure availability of ambulance services in remote pockets with scarce road communication,” he said.
In service since March 5, 2013, EMAS is managed and monitored through a 24/7 centralised call centre reachable at 108. It has a fleet of 866 ambulances, including 411 advanced life support (ALS), 449 basic life support (BLS) and six boat ambulances.
Health and Family Welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh, Health secretary Aswathy S, NHM director Dr Brundha D and senior officials were present.