Yogi government significantly expanded 108 and 102 ambulance services in UP, reducing response time by adding GPS tracking and ALS ambulances. Till now more than 13.26 crore people have received timely treatment. This is a big achievement in the direction of strengthening the health infrastructure.
Lucknow. Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has made a major expansion of emergency medical services to strengthen health facilities. Under the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the number of 108 emergency ambulance service and 102 maternal and child health ambulance service has been increased significantly. The reach of these services has now been ensured not only in cities but also in rural areas, remote and backward areas of Bundelkhand and Purvanchal. The inclusion of Advanced Life Support (ALS) vehicles in ambulance services has also led to major improvements in the quality and efficiency of service. A significant improvement in response time has been recorded with the adoption of GPS tracking system. During the tenure of the government, more than 13.26 crore patients have availed these services so far, which has also been appreciated by the World Bank in its 2018–19 report.
CM Yogi’s special focus on strengthening health services
CM Yogi set a target of making the health services of the state modern and accessible since the year 2017. For this purpose, 108 and 102 ambulance services were expanded to rural and backward areas. Special attention was given to areas like Bundelkhand and Purvanchal, where earlier there were no adequate health facilities. Around 2249 new ambulance services have been started so far during his tenure. Along with this, more than 250 ALS ambulances are also being operated, which are equipped with ventilators, defibrillators and modern life saving equipment. These ambulances provide life-saving assistance to critical patients on the spot.
Rapid ambulance service based on ‘Time is Life’ principle
In emergency situations seconds matter. Keeping this idea in mind, all the ambulances in the state have been equipped with GPS tracking and modern communication devices. This has not only speeded up the response time but also made it possible to get on-the-spot treatment, if needed, by taking online guidance from expert doctors. The result of this is being seen in the reduction in maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate in the state. Call center operators now dispatch the nearest ambulance keeping in mind the traffic and road conditions through GIS mapping. While the response time of 108 ambulance service was 28.12 minutes in the year 2014–15, it has now come down to only 7.25 minutes. Similarly, the response time of 102 service has reduced from 19.10 minutes to 6.58 minutes.
Big success in health sector due to the impact of ambulance service
Since 2017, 108 and 102 ambulance services together have provided timely medical care to more than 13.26 crore people. The 108 service provided emergency assistance to more than 3.57 crore patients, while the 102 service provided safe delivery to about 9.62 crore pregnant women. ALS ambulances have provided high level care to more than 7.14 lakh critical patients so far. These vehicles have played a big role where even a delay of a few seconds could have been fatal.
In the future, plans are also being made to further modernize these services by adding drone ambulance and AI based technology. Due to these efforts of Yogi government, Uttar Pradesh is fast becoming one of the leading states in health services. Experts believe that a strong network of ambulance services has not only reduced the death rate but has also strengthened the health infrastructure.