108 ambulance service save 4,021 critically ill COVID patients in Andhra Pradesh
Vijayawada: The revamped 108 emergency response service ambulances saved lives of 4,021 critically ill, Coronavirus-infected patients by shifting them to Covid hospitals on time between April 1 and November 17.
The Aurobindo Emergency Medical Services, which started to operate 108 ambulance services, used to receive more than 2,000 calls per day when the spread of COVID-19 peaked between May and August.
The calls in many instances were from family members of critically ill patients, who were often senior citizens, who used to complain about severe breathing problems, indicating a probable Covid infection.
With 315 dedicated ambulances equipped with oxygen support and other medical requirements, authorities rushed to shift patients by providing oxygen support during transit to closest Covid hospitals. Several family members said that timely shifting of patients helped save life of their dear ones. Many even expressed gratitude to them, government claimed.
However, after the numbers of Covid cases began reducing, they are now getting between nearly 175-180 calls per day.
AEMS head of operations Kamle Suresh said, “It was a tough time for us. We used to take over 2,000 calls per day, especially from seriously infected Covid patients suffering from severe breathlessness. Since response time is crucial, we used to give oxygen support during transit. Handling Covid patients meant we also had to take extra care to ensure safety of our staff.”
The 108 ambulance service authorities transported 2.07 lakh Covid patients between April 1 and November 17, he said. They also attended to 9,381 patients suffering with cardiac problems. Victims of 41,375 road accident cases were also shifted to hospitals. On an average, 150 to 170 road accidents are being reported in the state per day.
The ambulances also rescued pregnant women in an advanced stage of labour, covering a total of 76,250 pregnancies. They also attended to 10,231 cases of consumption of poison like pesticide or phenol, apparently suicide bids. About 5,308 cases pertaining to animal bite or snake bite were also attended to.
