Ambulance service saviour for expectant mothers in pandemic

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, September 1

The GVK EMRI 108 ambulance service proved to be a saviour for expectant mothers and Covid-19 suspects amid the lockdown.

Since the movement of private and commercial vehicles was restricted, it was a challenging task for the families of expectant mothers to take them to nearby hospitals for a safe delivery.

Data collected by The Tribune from the GVK EMRI authority revealed that 162 delivery cases had been assisted within the ambulance from March 22 till date.

At least 14,422 Covid suspects had been transported to nearby hospitals or dedicated Covid care centres in various parts of the state.

The highest 147 delivery cases were attended in Sirmaur district while five patients were provided assistance in Kinnaur district. In Mandi district, 83 delivery cases were handled while 66 availed services in Kullu district.

The highest number of 4,635 Covid suspects from Una district were taken to hospitals while nine patients from tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti benefited from the service.

Besides, the GVK EMRI ambulance services have collected 60,571 Covid samples from across the state till date.

Mehul Sukumaran, state head of the ambulance services, said, “Amid the pandemic, our team took the challenge courageously and has been providing services round the clock.”

“As many as 162 deliveries have been assisted successfully till date, while 14,422 Covid suspects have been transported to health centres. Besides, more than 60,000 Covid samples have been collected,” he said.

Sukumaran appreciated the support extended by the government during the pandemic, when the GVK EMRI authority was facing financial crisis and a shortage of vehicles.

He said the state government provided additional vehicles for the purpose and assured of providing financial assistance.

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