Ambulance Service in India



What is Ambulance?

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of injured or sick people to, from or between places of treatment in case of any illness, medical emergency or injury. The word is mostly connected by road, air & train, while travelling in case of any accidents or medical emergency ambulance is important for all people to reached hospitals or get any pre medical help. Mostly types of ambulance vehicles including trucks, vans, bicycles, motorbikes, station wagons, buses, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, boats, and even hospital ships.

Many type of ambulance service providers are:

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of injured or sick people to, from or between places of treatment in case of any illness, medical emergency or injury. The word is mostly connected by road, air & train, while travelling in case of any accidents or medical emergency ambulance is important for all people to reached hospitals or get any pre medical help. Mostly types of ambulance vehicles including trucks, vans, bicycles, motorbikes, station wagons, buses, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, boats, and even hospital ships.

  1. Government Ambulance Service

    Operating separately from or alongside of the fire and police service of the area, these ambulances are funded by local or national government.

  2. Fire or Police Linked Service

    In countries like United States, Japan, France, and some parts of India; ambulances can be operated by the local fire or police service. The single emergency number 112 will be operational throughout India from January 1 to help people reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire department. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has approved the provision of a single number for various emergency services that would be similar to the 911 all-in-one emergency service in the US.

  3. Volunteer Ambulance Service

    Charities or non-profit companies operate ambulances, both in an emergency and patient transport function. They also may be linked to a voluntary fire service, with volunteers providing both services. There are charities who focus on providing ambulances for the community, or for cover at private events (sports etc.). In India The Red Cross provides this service on a volunteer basis (and in others as a Private Ambulance Service). The contribution of these volunteers is undoubtedly exceptional just like an Indian soldier who is not daunted by the severities of weather they too didn't lag behind in serving the mankind as they were at their posts, in the chilly cold winter with temperature being as low as 3-4° C. These volunteers were between the age group of 16-70 years and from different segments of society such as school and college students, government officials and retired personnel. These volunteer ambulances may be seen providing support to the full time ambulance crews during times of emergency. In some cases the volunteer charity may employ paid members of staff alongside volunteers to operate a full time ambulance service. First Aid Squads are common names for establishments of volunteer Emergency Medical Services. First Aid Squads receive support from the town and rely on fundraisers to stay in operation. Ambulance crews in First Aid Squads range from 2-5 people all of whom need to be state certified EMTs. Shifts range from 6-12 hours with some members pulling 24-hour shifts when needed. Some towns rely solely on volunteer ambulance service while others have township run or paid, private companies.

  4. Private Ambulance Service

    Mostly commercial companies with paid employees, used as contract to the local people or national government for services. Private companies may provide only the patient transport elements of ambulance care which is for nonurgent or ambulatory transport, but in some places, they are contracted to provide emergency care, or as second tier response centers. In many areas private services cover all emergency transport functions and government agencies do not provide this service. These organisations may also provide services known as Stand-by cover for industrial sites as well as large special events.

  5. Combined Emergency Service

    These are fully dedicated service emergency service agencies, mostly found in places such as airports or large colleges and universities. Main feature is that all personnel are trained not only in ambulance (EMT) care, but as a firefighter and a police function. They may be found in smaller towns and cities, where size or budget does not warrant separate services. This multi-functionality allows to make the most of limited resource or budget, but having a single team respond to any emergency.

  6. Hospital Based Service

    Hospitals may provide their own ambulance service as a service to the community, or where ambulance care is unreliable or chargeable. Their use would be dependent on using the services of the providing hospital.

  7. Charity Ambulance

    This special type of ambulance is provided by a charity for the purpose of taking sick children or adults on trips or vacations away from hospitals, hospices or care homes where they are in long term care.

  8. Company Ambulance

    Many large factories and other industrial sites, such as chemical plants, oil refineries, breweries and distilleries, have ambulance services provided by employers as a means of protecting their interests and the welfare of their staff. Also used as first response vehicles in the event of a fire, explosionor any accident.

Costs:

Some type of ambulance service providers are:

  1. Government funded service

    The full or the partial of the cost of transport by ambulance is borne by the local, regional or national government.

  2. Privately funded service

    Transport by ambulance is paid for by the patient themselves or through their insurance company.

  3. Charity funded service

    Transport by ambulance may be provided free of charge to patients by any charity, otherwise donations may be sought for services received.

  4. Hospital funded service

    Hospitals may provide the ambulance transport free of charge, on the condition that patients use the hospital's services (which they may have to pay for).

What is the emergency medical services?

An Emergency Medical Services also called as EMS or ambulance services or paramedic services, which is a service that provides emergency medical care to patients with illnesses and injuries which it is caused by an incident that causes serious illness or injury. The focus and goal of EMS is to provide treatment to those in need of urgent medial care emergency medical care by treating the presenting conditions ie first medical help to the patients or arranging for timely reallocation of the patient to the level of hospitalization. The term emergency medical service evolved to reflect a change from a simple system of ambulances providing only transport, to a system in which preliminary medical care is given on scene and during transport.

In most places in the world, the EMS is summoned by members of the public via an emergency telephone number which puts them in contact with a control facility, which will then dispatch a suitable resource to deal with the situation for moving patients from one medical facility to an alternative one. Specialized hospitals that provide higher levels of care may include services such as neonatal intensive care (NICU), pediatric intensive care (PICU), state regional burn centres, specialized care for spinal injury and/or neurosurgery, regional stroke centers, specialized cardiac care (Cardiac catheterization), and specialized/regional trauma care.

EMS units may handle technical rescue operations such as extrication, water rescue, and search and rescue. Training and qualification levels for members and employees of emergency medical services vary widely throughout the world. In some systems, members may be present who are qualified only to drive ambulances, with no medical training. Additionally many EMS systems are staffed with Advanced Life Support (ALS) personnel, including paramedics, nurses, or, less commonly, physicians.

The importance and facts of Ambulance service

A hospital is a place where every person needs to visit a few times in their entire lifetime and while every healthcare facility has their own rules and ways of treatment, it is the hospital that people usually rely on when there is some emergency in the family or they need some health related solution on an immediate basis. Also for all the major and life-threatening problems, it is only the hospital that is approached by everyone. This is the reason that while buying a house or shifting to a new one, people often think of a place which has a hospital nearby or in the vicinity.

Health problems never tell and come and can come anytime or anywhere. This is why it is always important for people to have hospitals nearby their house or their workplaces. It is always best for your nearest hospital to have an ambulance service, so that in case of emergency, you can be taken to the hospital for treatment in no time after calling the ambulance service.

Below are a few facts you need to know about the ambulance service and how and where will you be taken in an emergency:

What happens after making a 112 call?

When a patient or a person facing an emergency calls up 112, the receiver contacts the ambulance company which is in charge of your area and sends it immediately.

How long does it take an ambulance to arrive?

The ambulances are basically required to reach at their destination in less than 9 minutes from the time they are dispatched by 112.

What medical personnel ride in the ambulance with the patient?

Mostly it is one paramedic and one emergency medical technician, or EMT is present in the ambulance with the patient, but if the case is severe, it can also have two paramedics with the patient.

How do ambulance personnel decide which hospital to deliver the patient to?

In most of the countries, it is always the hospital that is present in the vicinity of the patient's address that the patient is taken to. But, if the hospital nearby does not treat the condition; they have to take the patient to the second nearest hospital. While with patients facing an accident, they are taken to hospitals best suited to treat trauma, whereas other patients go to designated hospitals that treat stroke victims, heart attacks and children. Patients who are not facing any of the four above mentioned conditions are taken to the nearest hospital with a licensed emergency room.

List of Important Ambulance Contact Numbers (12 April 2015)

Hospital Name Address Pin Contact Number
AIIMS Ballabgarh, Sector 1 120004 965092222
Apollo Hospital E-2, Sector-26, Noida 201301 0120- 4012000
Apollo Hospital Sarita Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110076 011- 26925888, 26825555
Artemis Hospital Sector-51, Gurgaon 122001 0124- 6767000
Batra Hospital 1, Tughlakabad Industrial area, Mehrauli, Badarpur Road, New Delhi 110062 011- 26053333, 29956885
Blk Hospital BLK SSH Pusa Road, New Delhi 110005 011- 30403040
Columbia Asia Hospital Block F-Gol Chakkar, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon 122017 0124- 3022000
Fortis Hospital Fortis Hospital, B-22, Sector-62, Noida 201301 0120- 2400444, 4300222
Fortis Hospital Fortis Flt Lt Rajan Dhail Hospital, Sec-B-Pocket 1, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg Vasant kunj, New Delhi 110070 011- 42776222, 105010
Fortis Hospital A-Block, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi 110088 47884788
Fortis Hospital Fortis Escorts Heart Institute Okhla Main Road, New Delhi 110025 011- 26825002, 10501
Fortis Hospital R.B. Seth Jessa Ram Hospital, Karol Bagh, New Delhi 110005 011- 41503222/105010
Goodmans Rescue Ambulance Service M-2, Greater Kailash-1,New Delhi 110048 011-29231665,46566890
Jaipur Golden 2-Institutional Area, Sector-3, Rohini, New Delhi 110085 011- 27514510
Kalra Hospital Tulsi Dass Kalra Marg, New Delhi 110015 011- 45005600,45005700
Max Hospital 108-A, Indraprastha Extention, Pratapganj, New Delhi 110092 011- 40554055
Max hospital B-Block, Sushant Lok-1, Gurgaon 122001 0124- 40554055
Max hospital 2, Press Enclave Road, Saket, New Delhi 110017 011- 40554055
Max hospital FL-50, LD Block, Shalimar Block, New Delhi 110088 011- 40554055
Max hospital TV Tower, Wazirpur District Centre, New Delhi 110034 011- 40554055
Max Hospital A-364, Sector-19, Noida 201301 0120- 40554055
Medanta Hospital Sector-38, Gurgaon 122001 0124- 1068
Metro Hospital Sector-16-A, Faridabad 121002 0129- 4277777
Moolchand Hospital Lajpat Nagar 3, Near Moolchand Metro Station, New Delhi 110024 011- 42000102
Paras Hospital C1 Block, Suskant Lok, Phase-1, Sector. 43, Gurgaon 122002 0124- 4585666
Park Hospital Q Block, South city-2, sohna Road, Main Sec-47, Gurgaon 122018 0124- 49000000
Primus Hospital Primus Super Speciality Chandragupta Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110004 011- 66206620
Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital W-3, Sector-1, Ghaziabad, NCR 201012 0120- 4188188
SGRM Hospital SGRM Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi 110068 011- 25750000, 42254000
Umkal Hospital Umkal Super Speciality Hospital, H block, Palam vihar, Gurgaon 122017 0124- 4777000
Umkal Hospital A-20, Sushant Lok-1, Gurgaon 121001 0124- 4666555