From the new fleet of 108 and 104 services, 14 vehicles allotted to Prakasam district are equipped with automated external defibrillator (AED) to stop an irregular heart beat following sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
"If not treated within minutes, it leads to death," explains Aurobindo Pharma Foundation coordinator S. Vijaykumar, while overseeing the allotment of duties for a group of drivers and attenders trained to provide first aid in case of medical emergencies before shifting them to the nearest hospital.
"Now we have 25 ambulances with basic life support system and another two with neonatal care equipment. Ten more vehicles will join the fleet," he says in a conversation with The Hindu.
"Our aim is to provide a reliable emergency transportation facility to save the lives of persons in case of medical emergencies, whether it is a road accident or cardiac arrest or complicated pregnancy cases," says District Medical and Health Officer J. Padmavathi.
All the 56 mandals in the district will be provided with one vehicle each of 108 and 104 ambulance service. The 104 ambulance is equipped with 29 medical instruments and 60 types of drugs to provide primary medical care on wheels.
Through the programme, any village with no health facilities within a 5 km radius will be provided medical services on fixed
days every month through these Mobile Medical Units headed by a team comprising a medical officer, pharmacist and a lab technician to treat diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy, communicable diseases, antenatal check-ups and other common ailments.
