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Gandhinagar’s 542 common ambulances will be included into Gujarat’s 108 ambulance service, according to a government announcement.

To improve the state’s capacity to provide prompt and effective emergency medical help, these ambulances—which were previously stationed at different healthcare facilities—will henceforth be run under the 108 emergency service system.

118 ambulances from primary health centres, 310 ambulances from community health centres, 59 ambulances from sub-district hospitals, 31 ambulances from district hospitals, and 21 ambulances from hospitals connected to medical colleges make up the recently combined fleet.

Emergency responses will be expedited by this strategic integration, especially for inter-facility transfers (IFT) and local emergency situations.

The 108 emergency service now has 38 ICU-on-wheels and 800 Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support ambulances in its fleet across the state.

The overall number of emergency ambulances in Gujarat will increase to 1,499 with the installation of 119 new ambulances this year and the addition of the 542 reassigned vehicles.

In order to provide citizens with quicker and more effective emergency medical services, this expansion represents a significant improvement in the state’s emergency medical infrastructure.

The state’s healthcare system is anticipated to gain a number of significant advantages from the integration of these ambulances.

More than 28.6 million people have already received assistance from the 108 emergency service in the last two years, and the addition of the 542 ambulances will improve the emergency medical response even more.

Inter-facility transfers now handle between 350 and 400 cases each day, with response times average 11.26 minutes in urban areas and 21.04 minutes in rural areas.

The state hopes to cut the average response time from 16.5 minutes to just 10 minutes with the larger fleet.

The ambulances will also be included into the Smart Referral System, which will allow for real-time monitoring of vital patient transports and guarantee that patients are sent to the right medical institutions on time.

In addition to improving the availability of vehicles for both general and serious situations, the reallocation of ambulances that were previously stationed at hospitals will ensure the best possible use of available resources.

Pre-hospital treatment will be reliable and of the highest calibre if all ambulances use the same medical supplies, equipment, and trained staff.

More emergency services will be available in rural and isolated regions, facilitating faster access to essential care and ambulances.

Additionally, the system will integrate data in real-time, allowing for accurate location monitoring and performance analysis to guide future enhancements.

Coordinating during emergencies like natural disasters or epidemics would be easier with all ambulances GPS-enabled and centrally controlled via the Chief Minister’s dashboard.

The new fleet’s operationalisation, integration with emergency procedures, training, and administration across the state will all be covered by the Rs 104.77 crore a year that the Gujarat government has set aside to finance this enlarged program.