In the absence of integrated emergency ambulance service, patients in the state are in dire straits. At the root of the problem lies employees-contractor conflict that took serious turn on Monday resulting in strike by the ambulance staff.The strike entered third day on Wednesday.
According to the agitating employees, over 6,000 ambulance staff working on the all three types of ambulance service including 108-ambulance, 104-Janani Express and base ambulance service, run by the private service provider company GVK-EMRI, is on strike in support of their various demands, including salary hike, overtime pay and fixed working hours. Since Monday, many rounds of talks to break the deadlock between ambulance staff and the service provider company have taken place, but in vain. To ensure healthcare system is in place and public do not suffer, even the government had to step in. Health minister Kalicharan intervened and asked the service provider company to sit with agitating employees and find solution as early as possible. Taking cue from the recent in-service doctors agitation, government seems to avoid any strict action like arrest of agitating leaders despite the ambulance service in the state is included in Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act (RESMA), 1970, on March 16.
About Integrated Emergency Ambulance Service
Government of Rajasthan, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under National Rural Health Mission initiated Emergency Response Services, popularly known as “108 Ambulance service project or 108-Ambulance Services which is being run in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode in the State. It was launched in Rajasthan in September 2008 with 5 Ambulances. The scheme was planned in a phased manner to cover the entire State.
Currently GVK EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Institute), a company based in Hyderabad is running the services in the state under the contract. Last year it was integrated with 104 Janani Express ambulances and base ambulances and termed as Integrated Emergency Ambulance Service. Operating cost for each Ambulance is Rs 1,12,500/ per ambulance/month which government gives to service provider company.
Emergency Service in Rajasthan
Presently this service is running across 34 Districts and 249 Blocks in the State. Integrated Emergency Ambulance Service include around 741 ambulances of 108 emergency services, 588 ambulances of 104 Janani Express and 196 base ambulances running across the state. Fleet of 741 Ambulances also includes 14 ambulances provided by Disaster Management Authority. All types of these ambulances carries around 3,500 people with emergency need to the hospitals.
Objectives of the service
Availability of ambulances for critical patients and to provide reliable assured and affordable transport for pregnant women and newborns and infants. In the state, all types of emergency cases are handled by these services, including pregnancy, accidental, unconscious, paralysis, inflation, fever, heart attack, and all types of emergencies. As soon as an ambulance receives the call, it reaches the site and rushes the victim to the nearest hospital with in 20 minutes in urban areas and 40 minutes in rural areas. During the trip, EMT provides the victim pre-hospital care.
The service provider company GVK EMRI
Having launched the 108 emergency response service on August 15, 2005, in Hyderabad, GVK EMRI presently provides an integrated emergency service across the state of Andhra Pradesh, with 10,724 ambulances serving over 26,618 emergencies per day.GVK EMRI is currently operational in 15 States and 2 Union Territories i.e. AP, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, HP, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and 2 Union Territories, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
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 "108 Ambulance Strike")
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