CHENNAI: To reduce the response time of the 108 ambulance service, EMRI Green Health Services, GVK Enterprise service operator for the state health department is currently testing a pilot application which would allow users to track the movement of 108 ambulances in real time.
Once an ambulance is assigned to a caller, the latter will receive an SMS containing the phone number of the ambulance driver, a live tracking link and other details. According to official sources, the live tracking feature will also inform the caller of the ambulance’s Expected Time of Arrival (ETA).
On the other hand, the driver can also track the exact location of the caller and reach them, without the caller having to provide details such as district and taluk.
EMRI Green Health Services along with the health department has been testing the application across the state for over a month now, officials said.
Speaking to TNIE, M Selvakumar, state head of operations, EMRI Green Health Services said, “We have been testing it for over a month now, and the response has been good. The application will soon be launched officially.”
“The main aim of the application is to reduce the response time even further. The driver can now track the exact location of the caller and reach them without any hassle. The caller can also share their location,” he added.
Besides live tracking, the application enables the automatic assigning of ambulances without the intervention of an EMO. Once a call is received, an ambulance will be automatically assigned, without the caller even speaking to the driver, sources said.
The feature is yet to be tested, they added. Ranjith Viswanath, head of the emergency response centre, EMRI Green Health Services, said the average response time in the state is 13.22 minutes, in Chennai it is 7.54 minutes. “The EMO at the call centre can track if an ambulance is assigned, and if so, where it was assigned and if the ambulance is idle,” Ranjith added.