PANAJI
Five state-of-the-art fully-equipped cardiac care ambulances were added to the State’s 108 ambulance services on Friday at the Entertainment Society of Goa complex in Panaji. The fleet of 108 emergency ambulances is operated by EMRI for the State government.
One cardiac care ambulance each will be stationed at Goa Medical College and Hospital in Bambolim, North Goa District Hospital at Mapusa, South Goa District Hospital at Margao, Sub-District Hospital at Ponda and at Community Health Center in Canacona.
Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane stated that this is the first time in India that such equipped ambulances are being deployed statewide to improve medical care of cardiac patients.
The cardiac care ambulance service forms part of the STEMI Protocol Project of the superspecialty cardiac care unit of GMC. STEMI is a type of heart attack which occurs due to complete blockage of blood vessel in the heart. This heart attack has a high mortality rate. The aim of deploying such highly-equipped ambulances is to provide prompt care to extend the window for survival of such patients, it was informed.
Rane said, “The aim is to have these ambulances posted at 10 locations. Of the five we have presently acquired, two will be in action immediately. We have put together a team of 17 doctors, who will be attached to this service. They will arrive on March 23. From now on, when you dial 108 for chest pain, these ambulances will be dispatched.”
He sought to highlight that early and timely detection is the need of the hour. Patient will be stabilized before he is brought to the cardiac unit of GMC. In Goa, government hospitals treat around 1120 patients with STEMI every month or 1,440 patients a year on an average.
Dr Gurupasad Naik of GMC said that the equipment provided in the cardiac care ambulances is comparable with the facility provided in ICU. “Each ambulance includes advanced trained EMT, specially trained doctor round the clock, defibrillator with 12 LED ECG capacity, ventilator, syringe infusion pump for continuous IV medicine administration, oxygen, suction machine, intubation equipment, cardiac emergency drugs for critical care of patients,” he informed.
