Demand for ambulances spikes as scared non-COVID patients flee city

Chennai

The GVK EMRI 108 ambulance service attends to at least 3,500-4,000 cases, of which 50-60 per cent are COVID-19 cases. The rest seek inter-facility transfer, which has nearly doubled after the spike in COVID-19 cases, said Balaji Premnath, marketing head of GVK EMRI 108 ambulance service.

“People want to move to their native districts from Chennai as there is panic surrounding the surge in cases of COVID-19 in the city. There is an increase in transportation of patients from one hospital to another in case of COVID-19 patients. The pregnancy cases for regular checkup also see a demand,” he added.

The Health department had launched around 200 vehicles this year to provide for inter-facility transfer. “This is required for hospitals to drop off patients at their homes after discharge. The patients who are bedridden with spinal cord injuries, fractures, pregnancy and others who cannot travel in normal vehicles also require the services to travel to other districts. Other patients who are undergoing treatment in Chennai also ask to be transported to other districts,” he said.

Private ambulance service providers added that requests for advanced life support ambulances that have oxygen supply, ventilator, vital monitoring systems and others have gone up.

“Advanced life support vehicles to transport kidney patients, differently abled people, accident cases and others to other districts are required. A large number of pregnant women are asking for such services to travel to other states. People also prefer ambulances to private vehicles to avoid the hassles of e-pass for private vehicles. However, medical verification is done by authorities,” said a representative from Flying Squad ambulance service based in Chennai.