NAGPUR: Cardiac patients across the region would soon be able to avail the services of 'flying ambulances'. City based Arneja Heart Institute has planned to bring the concept of air ambulances to Central India.
In collaboration with Mumbai based Sky Connect, the hospital initially would not have aircrafts stationed in the city, instead flying the ambulances from Mumbai. Later though, they plan to have a fleet readily available at their Nagpur centre.
"Several of the places nearby like Gondia, Akola, Jabalpur, Yavatmal have airbases that can be used to provide such a service. These areas are much dependant on Nagpur for good medical services but the connecting roads are not very good for transporting seriously ill people," said international cardiologist Dr Jaspal Arneja, director of the hospital.
Speaking on why the need for the service was felt, vice president of the hospital S Rajarajan said, "We had patients complaining of the ambulances of these hospitals being uncomfortable. So, we had to send our own vehicles. The round journey would take up a long time, wasting many important hours. The air travel would make the round trip very short, saving time and perhaps a few lives as well." Soon, there would be a provision of making request for the service online, he added.
He said there were several requests made by the relatives of the patients staying in nearby towns. "These demands made us realize that there sure is a demand for the service in the area. Though there were doubts about the cost and the extent of its utility, we have tried to work things out. The cost is reasonable and the geographical location of the city would make it possible to reach any part of the country in a matter of some minutes," informed Rajendra Dandekar, the general manager, Marketing of the group.
Even before formally being announced, the service had resumed because of demand for it. Only a couple of weeks ago, a patient was flown to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai becoming the first to avail the service.
As reported in: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/City-based-hospital-starts-flying-ambulances-service/articleshow/9202003.cms