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The government had in February 2019 launched 16 first-responder vehicles in East, Northeast Delhi and Shahdara districts as a pilot project. “Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) used to operate 16 bike ambulances but the operation was stopped when Covid guidelines were enforced. Its staff was deployed at the CATS control room due to increased calls during the pandemic,” said a senior Delhi government official.
Two-wheelers can reach where four-wheelers cannot. In many cases requiring medical attention, a few minutes can make the difference between life and death. In a city like Delhi, where scores of underclass colonies are a warren of bylanes, the restart of a bike ambulance service therefore is a thoughtful move.
The service will be resumed with 16 ambulances again through tender on the Government e Marketplace (GeM) portal, he added.
“These bike ambulances are handy as they can reach the site quickly in congested areas, provide first aid and stabilise the patient’s condition before an ambulance arrives. They also inform the control room about the case, if required,” said the official.
Several colonies in Delhi have narrow and crowded streets and navigating those can be tricky for bigger vehicles.
The bike ambulances are equipped with kits, weighing 30kg, that contain air splints to immobilise joints, an ambu bag for assisted breathing, a glucometer and a pulse oximeter to check a person’s blood glucose and oxygen saturation levels. They have a manual suction machine to clear airways and foldable transfer sheets to move patients in a narrow stairwell or from a narrow lane to the ambulance.
“Even in some upscale areas, ambulances face problems getting in because of parked vehicles and encroachments on the inner roads. In such cases, these bikes are very useful,” said another official.
“In serious cases such as accidents and heart attacks, a few minutes can make the difference between life and death. There are injections which can be given to patients so that it gives extra time to the doctors to start the treatment process,” added the official.
When an emergency call comes from a congested neighbourhood, the CATS control room dispatches the bike ambulances along with a regular ambulance to cut the time between reception of the call and medical intervention. The two-wheelers are meant to provide first medical aid before a regular ambulance can transport the patient to a hospital.
During the pilot project, the bike ambulances were successfully able to reduce the response time from an average 25 minutes to about 12 minutes.
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