Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SHP)
Bengaluru, Jul 19: While the coronavirus infections continue to rise and the hospital resources getting stretched to the limit, ambulance services are easily the most vital form of service amid an emergency. With the rise in medical emergencies, there is definitely a shortage of ambulances. This has paved the way for people dying from not being able to receive timely help.
Worried by stories in the media of ambulances not reaching on time, the residents of Kanakapura have found their own solution. As a contingency measure, the residents of Kanakapura have gone ahead and hired an ambulance for themselves, reported Deccan Chronicle.
The ambulance will stand ready to serve the people of Kanakapura for six months. It will help in transporting individuals with a medical emergency to the hospital at any given point of time. The cost of hiring the ambulance for each of the 3,700 families of Kanakapura comes up to Rs 60 per month. The ambulance is a mini ICU equipped with a ventilator, PPE kits, cardiac monitor, infusion pump and oxygen cylinder along with two nurses on standby, working three shifts.
The idea is the brainchild of a group called 'Changemakers of Kanakapura Road'. Addressing the matter, the co-convener Aleem, said, "By coming together, the residents of Kanakapura Road have set an example to all of Bengaluru. It shows how the community can come together and bring in change even during a pandemic.”
The ambulance will be parked in the middle of Kanakapura Road at the Sarakki Junction and Nice Road Junction so that it is in proximity to all Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) in the area. The response time for the ambulance will be no more than 30 minutes. In case of simultaneous emergencies, another ambulance will be summoned at short notice.
The procedure for availing the ambulance service has been explained in an SOP (standard operating procedure) shared with the participating RWAs.