Sometimes, patients need to be transported across cities or borders during a medical emergency. It could be the lack of medical facilities close to the patient’s locale or the criticality of the patient’s condition that creates the need for long-distance transport. In any of the aforementioned cases, Air Ambulances play a decisive role in matters of life and death for the injured.
Air-Ambulances are present in India and would be scaling up in the near future much like the Western counterparts. It’s only a matter of a few years when this revolution will swarm the emergency medical industry of India to benefit rural as well as the urban citizenry.
While Air-Ambulances act as a life-saving provision, they have several advantages as well as disadvantages. However, with the inception of air-ambulance services in India, the advantages may outweigh the disadvantages provided that proper maintenance and implementation is carried out. Listed below are a few benefits that air-ambulances can facilitate:
- Quick Transportation: There are many occasions when a patient’s medical condition is highly critical. At such times, there can be minimum or no wastage of the Golden Hour. Air-ambulances have proven to be a boon during these situations considering since they ensure that emergency medical care is provided at the earliest, due to the well-equipped condition of air-ambulances and accompanying paramedics. It also makes sure that the patient is transported to the hospital in the quickest way possible.
- Strategic Treatment Procedures: Sometimes, the patient’s condition can be extremely complicated so that only a particular specialist has the necessary skills to conduct crucial treatment procedures. At such times, even if the diagnosis may be made at one particular hospital, the patient needs to be transported to another hospital for the particular therapy. Thus, air-ambulances play a pivotal role in ensuring co-ordinated treatment procedures for the benefit of the patient.
- More Lives Saved: During a war where injured soldiers need to be provided with immediate medical care, air-ambulances can be used to pick up many injured patients at once. They can then be transported to the peripheries of the battleground so that treatment can be provided. In the case of natural disasters, such as floods or in the aftermath of an earthquake, air-ambulances are also used to transport more than one person to hospitals.
- Access to Remote Areas: A major challenge that India faces currently is the lack of efficient healthcare facilities in rural sectors. Organizations like Ziqitza Health Care Limited have provided their support in facilitating a national ambulance number through Public Private Partnership with the Indian Government in various states. However, when it comes to serving rural areas, locating nearby equipped hospitals for treatment becomes a major challenge. Thus, air-ambulances could be a huge breakthrough for India, provided the costs are controlled or subsidized, so that rural citizens can benefit from advanced healthcare services.
Air-ambulances can revolutionize the way we understand emergency medical services in India. With this provision, traffic and other concerns with regards to timely treatment can be mitigated. By ensuring proper facilities for air-pads in hospitals and good maintenance of air-ambulances, this service has an immense potential to exponentially increase the number of lives saved. While there are innumerable steps taken by the Government as well as private companies to improve the condition of emergency medical services, the advent of air-ambulances will be a huge leap for India that we all must look forward to.