SHILLONG: The traffic congestion in the city has not only made daily commuting a nightmare but has adversely affected healthcare service like 108 Emergency ambulances.
With narrow roads and illegal parking on some stretches, the ambulances often find it difficult to manipulate their way through the maze.
A relative of a patient who was recently transferred to a hospital in 108 Ambulance recalled how challenging it was for the pilot to manoeuvre the vehicle on congested roads.
The attendant said the road was full of cars when the patient was being transferred to a hospital and the pilot went out of their way to ensure that the vehicle did not get stuck in traffic.
The Shillong traffic cops also play an important role as they give their priority to clear the way for any ambulance while the roads are packed with vehicles.
However, this challenge for the 108 EMRI service, which started its operation in Shillong in 2008, is being mitigated with the rising level of awareness.
State Head of 108 Dipankar Chaudhury told reporters on Thursday that awareness among people have increased and they make way for their ambulance “but the problem is that there is hardly any space for ambulance when traffic is at its peak in Shillong, especially during office and school hours”.
He also suggested that the best way to decongest traffic is by strengthening public transport system like in Guwahati where Ola and Uber services are available and people in Guwahati don’t take out their car but travel by these services.
He also said the average time for the ambulance to attend an emergency call and drop the patient to the hospital is around 17-18 minutes in urban areas and it goes up to 24-25 minutes in rural areas.
When asked if any death has occurred due to the delay, Chaudhury said there were instances when the condition of patients deteriorated and added that the EMTs are not authorised to declare anyone dead.
One of the ambulance pilots, Vincent Depaul Ryntathiang, admitted that traffic snarl is a big challenge for them but their problems are eased due to the help and cooperation of the traffic police.
“Without their assistance, it will be very difficult for us to manage our way and to ensure timely arrival in hospitals,” he said. East Khasi Hills SP Davis Marak said they render whatever possible help required to get ambulances to hospitals. “There have been instances when it gets really difficult due to the traffic and we have a harrowing time managing it,” he added.
Services rendered
Meanwhile, it was also informed that the EMRI 108 ambulance in Meghalaya have received more than 24 lakh calls out of which 2.10 lakh were emergency calls from February 2009 till August 31,2018.
As per the statistics, the services have been able to save 20,485 lives during the period and they count those patients in the category who were alive in the hospital till 48 hours after being dropped by the services.
The service has also attended 51,517 pregnancy cases and the delivery inside ambulance was about 5 percent. The 108 has attended to 16,386 road traffic accidents during the period and 9,000 cases of falls and bites; 5,800 and 5,900 cases of stroke and cardiac arrests, respectively, besides respiratory cases. The 108 receives 300-400 calls daily out of which 50-60 are emergency calls.
