Mobike ambulance service launched in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Karnataka government on Wednesday launched a two-wheeler ambulance service as part of the "platinum ten minutes" trauma care initiative aimed at reducing death due to road accidents.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah flagged of bike ambulances equipped with medical kits under the initiative that will be helpful in reaching out to the needy in urban areas where it is difficult for conventional ambulances to reach on time due to traffic.

"These bike Ambulances will operate in city areas like Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, like this it will operate in district centres. This is a new initiative," Siddaramaiah said speaking at the launch event.

He said with the population in urban areas increasing, there is growing traffic problem and due to this ambulances are not able reach the spots where it is required on time and the bike ambulances "can pitch in at that time."

Officials said presently out of the 30 bike ambulances, 21 would be pressed into public service additionally in the city corporations of Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Davanagere, Tumakuru, Vijayapura and Shivamogga and other cities.

They said the rider of the bike ambulance will be a trained paramedic, adding, these bikes will reach the spot where it is difficult for conventional four-wheeler ambulance to be on time, and will initiate the resuscitation measures.

The first responder bikes will be equipped with all necessary life saving medicines and equipments like oxygen cylinder, pulse oxymeter, and glucometer. The bike ambulance service is being implemented through GVK EMRI that runs 108 ambulance services.

GVK EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Institute) is a not-for-profit professional organisation operating in the Public Private Partnership mode and is said to be the largest professional Emergency Service Provider in the country.