'108' ambulance system serves over 50 lakh people in 7 years

The '108 Emergency Response Service' ambulance system in Gujarat, launched seven years ago, today reached a milestone for having provided medical and emergency services to over 50 lakh people, an official said.
"We thank the people of Gujarat for showing their trust in our services by calling 108 number in emergency cases. Today, while crossing the number of 50 lakh human lives (to whom service was provided) in the last seven years, we always assure services of global standard to the citizens of Gujarat," Jaswant Prajapati, the Chief Operating officer of Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) said in a statement here.

EMRI operates the '108' ambulance service in the state. By calling 108 number in any emergency situations, people in the state can get quick response service from the medical team of EMRI. The affected people are given the first-aid before being taken to a near by hospital.
The 108 service was launched on August 29, 2007 by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. They initially started off with 14 ambulances and the number of vehicles has gone up to 550 across the state, the statement said.
"The 108 emergency response service has been mostly used by the people in road accident cases, pregnancy-related complication during deliveries, cardiac arrests and respiratory problems," it added.

According to the official, the 108 service has provided service in 49,23,978 medical cases, 71,022 police cases and 5,439 fire-related cases.