Apollo, Deccan Aviation sign MoU on air ambulance service

BANGALORE: Apollo Hospitals Enterprises on Wednesday entered into an agreement with Deccan Aviation to launch air ambulance service from Bangalore.

The service would be provided to link the New Apollo Hospitals, on Bannerghatta Road, a 250-bed multi-specialty tertiary care unit, a joint statement said.

The services are being provided by helicopters and Deccan Aviation is providing the entire logistical support.

"As air evacuations can be expensive, we are in talks with insurance companies to include air evacuation in medical insurance policies so we can extend this to everyone who may need the service" said Dr Umapathy Panyala, COO, New Apollo Hospitals, Bennerghatta Road, Bangalore, in the statement.

"While Deccan Aviation will provide the helicopter and take care of aviation logistics, Apollo emergency specialists will take care of the medical aspects by providing trained personnel, equipment and medical care during the flight", he added.

Air ambulance services are used in cases where transport by ground ambulance could endanger the life of a patient or in remote areas where there is no ground accessibility.

Apollo air ambulance provides state-of-the-art advanced life support equipment on board its aircraft.