80 medical teams, 130 ambulances to be deployed for G20 Summit, ALS teams to escort VVIP carcades

New Delhi: Eighty teams of medical personnel, 130 ambulances, and advanced life support teams to escort VVIP carcades will be deployed as part of preparations to handle medical emergencies during the G20 Summit here.

Besides these, five government hospitals and three private medical facilities have been put on "high alert" in view of the summit, officials said. The mega event is slated to be held from September 9 to 10 at the newly built international convention and exhibition centre -- Bharat Mandapam -- at Pragati Maidan. It is likely to be attended by more than 30 heads of state, top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries, and 14 heads of international organisations. During a press conference on on Wednesday, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the city government has extended all support to the Centre and has made all the arrangements. "The advanced life support (ALS) system will accompany all carcades. It will have senior resident (doctors) to address any medical emergencies," he said.

The officials said the health department has formed 80 teams of doctors and nursing staff to attend to medical issues and emergencies at hotels. Of these, 75 teams will work in shifts, they said. There will be 70 advanced and 60 well-equipped ambulances for the event, the officials added. The five government hospitals that have been put on "high alert" are Lok Nayak Hospital, GB Pant Hospital, GTB Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, while the private ones are Primus Hospital-Chanakyapuri, Max Hospital-Saket and Manipal Hospital-Dwarka, they said. The private hospitals have been selected by taking into account of their proximity to the hotels where guests would be staying, the officials said.

A state-of-the-art medical emergency facility with ICU services has also been set up within the premises of the Bharat Mandapam. Sources added that adequate arrangements have also been made at the Ram Mahohar Lohia Hospital and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in view of the summit. The officials said other government and private hospitals have also been directed to make arrangements to deal with any emergency. The Delhi Police has also made arrangements to provide assistance to medical emergency vehicles.

An Ambulance Assistance Control Room will be operational from the intervening night of September 7 and September 8 to September 11 on the number 6828400604 and 112, according to a senior official. "During this period, traffic police personnel will remain present in control rooms of the Centralized Accident and Trauma Services (CATS), Directorate of Health Services (DHS), major government and private hospitals. Apart from this, medical emergency vehicle assistance teams will be deployed at major junctions across the city," he added. The police has said that there will be no restrictions on movement of emergency vehicles and their movement will be facilitated