AP Government Set to Launch Massive 108-Ambulance Fleet

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government is set to launch 190 new 108 ambulances to benefit patients by enabling them to reach hospitals within the critical "golden hour" and receive timely medical treatment.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Minister for Health Satya Kumar Yadav will soon flag off the new ambulances. The new vehicles will have colours as per the national ambulance code. Minister for Health Satya Kumar Yadav, in a statement issued here on Tuesday, stated that as part of national standards, the new ambulances will have colours as per the national ambulance code, unlike the previous YSR Congress government's practice of allowing ambulances to have blue and green colours.

The minister stated that when the NDA government called for tenders, Bhavya Health Services Private Limited was entrusted with the task of operating the 108 ambulance service in April, and as part of norms fixed by the state government, the agency had spent Rs 27 lakh on each ambulance for providing the requisite medical equipment, and accordingly, there are 56 advanced support and 134 basic advanced support ambulances for providing service to the patients. Moreover, in the advanced support ambulance, two ventilators and other medical equipment would be available, and this kind of ambulance would be used for patients in life-threatening conditions, the minister said.