Odisha to introduce boat ambulances in four districts

Odisha will introduce boat ambulance service in four districts where people face difficulties in getting health service.
The boat ambulance service will be available in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapara and Kalahandi where people face problems in availing 108 ambulance service due to intervening large water bodies in the form of rivers and dams disrupting road communication, said Health and Family Welfare secretary P K Meherda.
The state government has sanctioned six boat ambulances for these areas out of the state funds, Meherda said adding that these will be part of the 108 ambulance service.
This is part of an MoU signed today between the State Government and the Ziquitza Health Care.

IIT, Chennai is providing technical support to this project and the request for proposal (RFP) for the same is being finalised, he said.
Though the state already has a fleet of 420 ambulances to cover the entire state, those were not sufficient. Therefore, in order to provide emergency ambulance service free of cost to the people of Odisha, 92 Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance would be put into the service, he said.

In order to improve the response time, reduce cancellation calls and carter the needs of the current population and the geographical situation, the state government has sanctioned additional 92 Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance out of the state funds at an investment of Rs 21,21 crore. The total number of ambulance under the 108 service would now become 512, Meherda said.

This apart, the state government also signed another MoU with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for imparting post graduation diploma course to the serving doctors in different district headquarters hospital across Odisha.
"This help us to meet the requirement of the specialists in remote areas," Meherda said.