In a meeting of the EMS executive committee on Friday at Hinduja hospital, it was decided to ensure an Act is put in place in the state like the one drafted in Gujarat.
According to current rules, only MBBS doctors can be on ambulances, while the new draft would allow trained paramedical staff. It would also include the details of ambulance specifications to be operated. A similar Act, drafted by a private hospital, was passed by the Gujarat government.
At present, there are no clear specifications on equipment and staff of the ambulance. These will be included in the draft. We will also look at the Act passed in Gujarat, said Gagrani.
For a city which has 40 trauma accidents per 10,000 vehicles, the steps for setting up an integrated emergency medical service to respond to emergencies were designed in April 2007.
It involves having an emergency call number linked to ambulances and hospitals, enabling them to respond to calls. The service, which envisages three-tier ambulances with medical staff, was initiated after the serial blasts in July 2006.
In the efforts since then, the committee has been able to link up several private hospitals for responding to emergency calls through 40 ambulances.
On Wednesday, the state Government approved a similar plan for rural Maharashtra through the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
The EMRI project is currently for rural areas. In the second phase which is to be completed till 2011, corporations will also have similar services. However, we will see if the three major corporations can finance their own systems, said Chandra Iyenger, principal secretary, public health.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/more-teeth-for-emergency-medical-services/375415/