Rural Andhra gets a lifesaver

EMRI, the NGO backed by Satyam Computers, plans to expand its service to other states.

Mallesham, a 20-year-old agricultural labourer in the remote Kummaripalli village in Dharur mandal of Ranga Reddy district, was suffering from diarrhoea. His blood pressure fell suddenly and pulse collapsed. An RMP (registered medical practitioner) doctor, who had come from Nagaram, 2 km from here, was trying all methods to rescue him.

The only government hospital near Kummaripalli is 20 km away, at Vikarabad, and the two areas are not well connected by road.

Seeing the patient's condition worsening, an anganwadi teacher called the toll-free number "108" from a BSNL coin box.

An Emergency Medical and Research Institute (EMRI) ambulance, manned by an emergency medical technician (EMT) and a pilot (driver) arrived at the scene within 15 minutes, and provided first-aid and oxygen support to the patient enroute hospital.

Mallesham is one of the 14,000 people saved in Andhra Pradesh by the EMRI, a non-profit organisation backed by B Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam Computer Services Limited.

EMRI signed up with the Andhra Pradesh government in April 2005 for managing emergency services in the state, through calls received from the toll-free number.

"Some rural areas in the state, either plagued by infectious diseases or hit by accidents like fire mishaps or reporting common incidents such as snake bites and deliveries, still do not have proper healthcare and transportation facilities. We have been conducting campaigns and live demonstrations in rural areas on a daily basis to create awareness about the toll-free number "108." We also assure them of giving immediate medical attention," Venkat Changavalli, chief executive officer, EMRI, said.

Awareness about the emergency number, however, is just not enough. "The institute's drive to save lives can only be strengthened through VoICE (Volunteer in Case of Emergency) programme, an initiative by the EMRI," he said.

"As part of this programme, we have recruited close to one lakh volunteers who are being trained in life saving and support skills. We aim to appoint three lakh volunteers by the end of this year, who would help and assist the victims in their respective villages and cities till the ambulance arrives," he added.

The EMRI, located in a 37-acre campus on the outskirts of Hyderabad, houses a 100-seater call centre, which is dedicated to R Adams Cowley, the father of trauma care.

Besides the 100 communication and dispatch officers who work in three shifts, the call centre houses two police dispatch officers to coordinate with patrolling officers in case of police intervention, a doctor to guide the EMTs round-the-clock and a bunch of Satyam employees for providing technology support.

The centre, on an average, receives 25,000 calls a day from across the state. Between 2005-07, it received 6.3 million calls. "To attend the increasingly growing calls, which is expected to reach 40,000 a day, we plan to add 50 more employees at the call centre by the year-end," Changavalli said.

Satyam's Chairman Ramalinga Raju initially funded the project with Rs 50 crore for procuring 70 ambulances, while the state government gave 310 ambulances under the National Rural Health Mission Scheme.

Each of these ambulances, equipped with imported blood pressure and suction apparatus, pulse oxymeter, oxygen cylinder, humid fire, collapsible and scoop stretchers and splints, besides medicines including anti-venom injections, are stationed at strategic locations across the state to cover villages and cities in the radius of 30 km.

The institute plans to secure 120 more ambulances in the next two months. most of these ambulances would be deployed to cover the rural areas of the state.

"At present, the cost of maintenance and operations including the salaries to the 2,500-odd staff is being borne by the EMRI. We have approached the government and it has agreed in-principle to bear 90 per cent of the operational costs from this year, and scale it up to 95 per cent from next year," Changavalli said.

Buoyed by the remarkable progress made in Andha Pradesh, the institute plans to set up offices in the entire country in partnership with various state governments.

The institute is set to expand its horizons to Gujarat on August 29, 2007, with 25 ambulances, which would be scaled up to 100 in the first phase. The entire cost, from purchase of ambulances to its maintenance, would be incurred by the Gujarat government.

"We are on the verge of forging agreements with Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala to operate our 108 ambulance services from January 2008. The Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governments have evinced interest, but we are yet to enter into agreements with them," Changavalli said.

"Our vision is to cater to one million calls a day, and save one million lives a year with a fleet of 10,000 ambulances nationally by 2009," he added.

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