A few weeks ago, an ICATT Air Ambulance had to transport a middle-aged man, in critical condition, from Reva in Madhya Pradesh to Chennai for treatment.
A team of doctors, who flew in from Delhi, could not land in Reva due to unfavourable weather conditions, and instead arrived in Varanasi and drove down to Reva. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was initiated and the patient was stabilised the whole night and brought to the city. “We are glad to hear that he is gradually recovering in Chennai now,” Rahul Sardar, of ICATT Air Ambulance services, said.
There has been a huge spike in the number of air ambulances arriving in the city in recent times, with 48 arrivals from various cities in the last two months. Airport sources said earlier, they would receive just 5-6 each month but it had gone up significantly now.
“We have airlifted from places like Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Patna, Raipur, Durgapur, Bhubaneshwar, Indore, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Bhopal. The quality of medical care and infrastructure is what makes people come to Chennai. Most patients we have transported were very critical, on ventilators or on ECMO support,” Mr. Sardar said, and added that Chennai followed by Hyderabad had been the most preferred by patients.
Shaju Kumar, CEO, Aeromed International Rescue Services Limited, said, their firm has seen a steep increase in demand for air ambulances recently. “Earlier, we used to get 15 calls a month but now we get two a day. Majority of the patients we have airlifted were affected by COVID-19 and wanted to head to Chennai for treatment and for lung transplants,” he added.
Sources said air ambulances replicate an ICU bed and have a team of doctors and used some of the best aircraft available. A patient spends as high as ₹20-30 lakh for this service.
Sachit Wadhwa, of BookMyCharters, said, Beechcraft King Air B200 had been one of the most preferred aircrafts for affordability and size.
“We also work under stressful conditions and it takes a bit of us away when we attend to each call. When they ask us to put them on priority, we feel very bad when were are forced to put them on queue due to high demand. But now, the situation is slightly better. In the midst of all this, when we receive a call that a patient is recovering well, it gives us hope,” he added.
