Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)

Mangaluru, Jun 26: KMC Hospital, part of Manipal Health Enterprises, on Friday June 26 launched its state-of-the-art ambulance service called 'Manipal Ambulance Response Service (MARS)'. The emergency number for the service 2222227 was also launched.

The ambulance service was flagged off by superintendent of police Dr Sharanappa S D at KMC hospital here.

Addressing the gathering, Dr Colonol M Dayananda Prabhu, medical superintendent and COO, KMC Manipal said, "MARS was first started in Bengaluru in January. In the past 3-4 months we have saved about 1,000 lives. The advantage of this ambulance is that it is very well equipped. It has a two-way camera which will enable the paramedics to provide information on heart rate and other statistics about the condition of the patient. These cameras will provide live streaming in our monitoring center in hospital. By this doctors can see the patient and give directions to stabilize his condition. We have 17 ambulances in Mangaluru and surrounding areas. I wish great success to this project."

SP Dr Sharanappa said, "I am happy to participate in this people-friendly initiative by KMC Hospital. KMC has made tremendous contribution to the field of healthcare. All over India, about 3.5-4 lac people die of accidents every year and millions are injured. Today we see a fading away of humanity in society. When accidents occur how many people try to help? The victim may be lying on the road for half an hour but no one will come forward to help. This mentality need to change. 'Golden hour' is very important. Use of technology in emergency service has played a very important role. I congratulate KMC on the launch of this people-friendly service. I request KMC to spread its network and I request others also to start such services."

Dr V Surendra Shetty, pro vice-chancellor of Manipal University, said, "Mangaluru is the fastest growing city in the country. When I first came to Mangaluru there were narrow roads and less infrastructure. It was only known for its tile factory and coffee plantation. But today it has very good roads and it has grown a lot. Today we have 8 medical colleges across the district.

"Today we have launched our advanced ambulance service. It is not enough to have the best doctors and facilities - how patient reaches the place where these services are provided is also very important. This new service of ours will definitely make a big change and reach out to the common people. I wish grand success to this new service," he added.

In an interactive session with the media, Dr Anand Venugopal, medical superintendent of KMC said, "This concept was thought of by the top management. We have 16 hospitals so far in south India and we will be expanding our hospitals to Jaipur and Delhi also. This new service by us is the most advanced one. These ambulances have all the equipment like monitor, ventilator, ECG and cameras which will stream in the monitoring center in the hospital. With these cameras the doctors can give directions to the paramedics. It is a 2-way link between the command center and the ambulance."

Dr Mabel, the brain behind this unique service, said, "We have 16 ambulances in Bengaluru, which are placed in different locations. When the patient is taken to hospital in case of heart attack, the paramedics can send recorded statistics of pulse rate and ECG to the monitoring centre in the hospital from the ambulance. This will reduce the response time and thereby help a great deal during the crucial golden hour. When the patient is bought to the hospital the team of doctors can be ready to give the required treatment."

Sonal Pahwa, marketing global head of KMC said, "We have got very good response to this service in Bengaluru. I have spoken to the superintendent of police and he has assured to give all his support to ensure smooth movement of the ambulance in case of emergency. We have also signed MoU with a private company for 15 air ambulances. We will get a helicopter in September and the fleet in December."

Uday Nayak, ACP(traffic), Dr Anand Venugopal, medical superintendent of KMC Mangaluru, Dr M V Prabhu, dean of KMC Mangaluru and others were present.