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Pregnancy cases top emergencies list attended by 108 service
During any accident or health emergency, the go-to service for public has got to be 108. Dialing 108 from any phone ensures the free ambulance service reach the spot at the earliest and shifts the person to hospital for timely medical care. Even a layman in any part of the State knows this.
​Hyderabad: During any accident or health emergency, the go-to service for public has got to be 108. Dialing 108 from any phone ensures the free ambulance service reach the spot at the earliest and shifts the person to hospital for timely medical care. Even a layman in any part of the State knows this. Despite being bogged down by various issues in the recent past, the 108 service is attending to 1,000 to 1,400 emergency cases on any given day in the State.
While patients in distress waste no time in calling the 108 service, it is pregnancy-related cases that rank highest in different kind of emergencies followed by accidents, acute abdomen, fever/infections, respiratory cases etc.
If we take a look at the 2017 data, GVK EMRI, that is operating the service in Public private Partnership mode with the State government, attended to 32,500 cases on an average every month. Of them, pregnancy cases were almost one-third (9,550), while the second highest was accident cases (4,250).
Even persons who attempted suicide, those attacked by animals or bitten by snake were rescued and shifted to hospital for treatment when a SoS call was made to 108. Each 108 ambulance has a pilot (driver) and an EMT (emergency medical technician). Not only the staff is striving to shift patients to nearest hospital in quickest possible time, at times they are coming in handy, especially in pregnancy-related cases.
Whenever patients develop severe labour pains, the EMT in ambulance is putting to use the special training given at EMRI on normal delivery procedure. Last year alone, 108 staff helped 1,536 patients deliver babies in ambulance itself.
According to Brahmananda Rao, CEO, GVK EMRI 90 per cent of deliveries were successful. Also, in such cases, specialist doctor at the call centre comes on the line over telephone and gives instructions to the staff in the ambulance to ensure the procedure went smoothly. This situation is mostly seen in rural villages and thandas and not in cities and towns as pregnant women get admitted to hospitals ahead of their delivery date, he added.
Indian Medical Association, Telangana general secretary Dr Avula Bharat Prakash said that 108 services have become a household name in the entire State. When in distress and in need of medical help, even a layman on the road dials 108 and ensures ambulance reach the spot, especially during at time of accidents.
By: Mahesh Avadhutha
