Government to revamp 108 ambulance service to improve quality

Bengaluru:Health and Medical Minister Dr.K.Sudhakar said he is mulling a major revamp in 108 ambulance services to ensure quality.

"Ambulance services play a vital role during emergency situations. The current system has a lot of loopholes and there is a need to correct these by adapting modern technology and global standard operating systems," the minister said.

"State government is spending a large amount of public money but the quality of service is not proportionate to the cost. Our aim is to bring in a world class system which will become a role model for the entire country. Officials have been instructed to issue contracts to companies which meet global standards," he added.

The minister held a meeting with representatives of iDeck, experts and senior officials to deliberate upon the draft terms and conditions of the contract and issued directions.

Sudhakar in a meeting asserted that ambulance should arrive within a few minutes of receiving the message or call. The call centre should identify the nearest available ambulance and allocate it. There should be trained staff who can provide first-aid. There should be an app similar to Uber and Ola.

GPS, biometric and call centre systems must be robust. There is a need to study whether a separate contract is required for vehicles and IT.

"There will be better accountability if the period of contract is for 3 years. There are several instances in the past where people have used other vehicles after calling several times and unavailability of vehicles during emergency. Such instances should not repeat," Sudhakar said.

"We do not need vehicles which look like ambulances but do not serve the purpose. Every rupee spent should be useful to the public. There should be scope to cancel the contract if services are not satisfactory. Terms of contract must be designed carefully in such a way that it does not lead to litigations," he added.