108 on life support
108 on life support, 108 ambulances, 108, Emergency Management and Research Institute. Once hailed as the saviours of life, the 108 ambulances now lie neglected, as suggested by statistics.
• Can’t reach on time
• Fall in the number of calls
• Not all ambulances have surgical equipment and medicines
It is alleged that 108 ambulances are no longer sticking to their promise of reaching within 10 minutes. Apart from that it is found that most ambulances are short of medicines and surgical equipment. Experts say that most vehicles are in a bad shape and need replacement
Once hailed as the saviours of life, the 108 ambulances now lie neglected, as suggested by statistics. Four years ago, the call centre used to receive 500 calls a day on an average. Now they hardly receive 280. Back then an ambulance attended about 10 cases a day. Now that has come down to 5 or 6 a day.
Sources at the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) say that the operational problems plague them. Most of the vehicles operate in a bad state and this has been attributed to the lack of maintenance. Of late, there are complaints galore at 108 that most of the ambulances do not have adequate supply of medicines and surgical equipment. It is also alleged that the ambulances do not adhere to the promise of reaching a spot in 10 minutes. In fact, it takes around half-an-hour to reach the location.
The EMRI was launched in the state on August 15, 2005, with 17 ambulances. Initially Satyam Computers was the partner and later, GVK group became the principal sponsors while Satyam Computers continues to be the technology partner. The bad state of 108 ambulances is mostly due to the alleged rift between state government and the GVK. It should be remembered that 108 is run on a PPP model. The journey with GVK EMRI in AP has been a rough ride. There were instances where GVK threatened to pull out their services. Back in 2011, it was widely reported that the GVK group allegedly shot a letter to the government, expressing its helplessness over running 108 services, unless the government cleared its arrears of Rs 31.3 crore. As per the agreement, the state government had to pay Rs 7 crore to the GVKEMRI per month to run 800 ambulance services across the state. However, senior officials then denied receiving any such letter from the GVK Group but claimed that all arrears were cleared as per the agreement.
Sources say that the situation is still rocky and this is probably the reason for the bad maintenance of 108. GVK group only holds 10 per cent stake in 108 ambulances and 90 per cent is borne by the state government. It is alleged that the government is not holding up their end of bargain and are not regular clearing the arrears.
108 ambulance services kicked off on a high note in 2005. With an initial stock of 17 ambulances across the state, 108 is currently operating 48 services in the city alone. But this is hardly an indication of growth as 108 is facing flak from the public for its poor service. If the time limit of 10 minutes is not being adhered to, lack of critical equipments including medicines is hampering the services. Not just that, the ambulances, which can make a huge difference between the life and death of a person, are itself in dire need of attention. Most of the vehicles have not been serviced for years and some, which need to be phased out of service, are still in operation. Here’s a list of the areas and the problems which are being faced by the ambulances in the respective locations
