CM launches Bike Ambulance service, assures more funds to govt hospitals in budget

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao today launched a unique Bike Ambulance Service-108 to provide emergency medical help to patients.

The new ambulance aims to provide service at accident spot, which will be faster than the traditional 108 ambulances. The Chief Minister flagged off 50 bike ambulances at a function organized by the Medical & Health department at People’s Plaza. Keeping in view the emergency services, the government came up with the ambulance bikes for faster reach through narrow areas. The bikes will prove handy and can be operated by trained and professional emergency medical technician in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas, main roads and highways.

The Chief Minister also upgraded the 102- Amma Vodi scheme by increasing the fleet of vehicles to 200 from the present 41 ambulances. According to informed sources, these vehicles will function across the State and to be manned by the trained Emergency Medical Technician and ASHA workers. They provide medical services to pregnant women and child care. The project christened as “Rekkalu” (Wings), this will be providing mobility support to the female Multipurpose Health Care Assistants on two wheelers (Honda Activa) to provide multiple medical services to people at the households.

Speaking later, the Chief Minister said implementation of KCR Kits and betterment in the government hospitals has increased the people’s faith in the hospitals and there is a need to preserve this faith. “Since a lot of priority was given to the public health, Medical & Health Department would need more funds. He announced that in 2018-19 Budget, more funds would be allocated to the medical and health.

There is a substantial increase in the patients that are coming to the government hospitals. The Medical and Health department’s action plan should reflect the confidence reposed by the people. The situation should be bettered than the existing one but should not be lowered. The government is ready to increase the budget for the medical and health and in the next Budget, allocation funds would be increased. As on date, we are spending more funds for the irrigation projects to supply water to the farm sector. After the irrigation sector, the government’s priority would be health and education sectors. In future we will allocate more funds for these two sectors. There is no other priority other than giving better education and good health services to the poor. Officials should bear this in mind and prepare action plans and estimates for the ongoing and future needs. The government would accordingly allocate the funds. We are getting good results by the decentralization of the hospital administration. The Hospitals Superintendents should be entrusted with the responsibility of the administration and they should be directly given the funds,” the CM said. (NSS)