After Uber, Ola has now partnered Apollo Hospitals to train drivers to provide medical assistance in case of on-road emergencies.
Besides, the partnership will also offer medical benefits and accident insurance at discounted rates to driver partners.
"Ola has partnered with Apollo Hospitals to create India's first ever comprehensive medical programme for driver- partners," Ola said in a statement.
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The programme will be conducted in five cities including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai and will be expanded to other cities over the course of the next few months, it added.
"Driver partners will be also be able to opt for a 'My Apollo Card' which will provide them with medical benefits, while Apollo Munich will entitle them to accident insurance at discounted rates," it said.
Last week, Uber had announced a similar programme in partnership with Apollo Hospitals.
"Lakhs of people die in India every year due to lack of first response on the road. With our wide network of drivers across the country, we see that there is an opportunity to help provide assistance to millions of victims if our driver partners are equipped to administer first aid," Ola COO Pranay Jivrajka said.
With this tie-up with Apollo, Ola would essentially ensure that over 5.5 lakh drivers across the country are prepared to provide medical response in case of accident or emergency, he added.
"Also, our driver partners spend several hours everyday on the road and their health and wellbeing is important to us. By providing them with free basic health check-ups, medical benefit plans and accident insurance, we can work towards creating a robust driver ecosystem," he said.
The training session, conducted by an Apollo Emergency Specialist, will include training the drivers to provide first aid in case of trauma, arresting sudden chest pain or shortness of breath.
They will also be trained in providing CPR along with cardiac arrest and stroke management by assisting with basic life support including chest compressions.
Apart from first aid, they will also be trained to transport patients to the nearest hospital or coordinate with an ambulance.
During the training, drivers will be taken through a free basic health check-up where their blood pressure, BMI and blood sugar will be tested.
In addition, counselling sessions will be conducted to address specific issues. Post completion of training, drivers qualified as 'Lifesavers' will receive a certificate and a sticker for their Ola vehicles.
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