Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today launched the much-awaited emergency ambulance service, which would be available within 20 minutes at the doorsteps of those in need of immediate medical treatment.
The patients can dial 108 to get the ambulance service within 20 minutes in an urban area and within 30 minutes in a rural area, officials said.
As many as 280 ambulances are ready to hit the roads from today.
"As soon as the emergency service gets phone call, the ambulance will reach the place and transport the patients," Health Minister Damodar Rout said.
The fleet of ambulances will comprise both 'Basic Life Support' (BLS) and 'Advance Life Support' (ALS) systems with technical support from global positioning system (GPS) and mobile data terminal to help detect the exact location of the caller.
The government has decided to start the service in 15 of the state's 30 districts.
The districts which will be covered in the first phase are: Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Puri, Dhenkanal, Sundargarh, Balasore, Bhadrak, Rayagada, Jajpur, Sambalpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam and Koraput.
