Emergency? take a cab, not ambulance

Emergency? take a cab, not ambulance

Soumita Majumdar. Bangalore

Stuck in a medical emergency? Better call a city cab as the wait for an ambulance may prove deadly.
"We get at least four such calls every week to shift patients to hospitals. It is difficult to get an ambulance on time. But city cabs are easily available," said Johny Gram of JB City Taxis.
In accidents or medical emergency, the main concern is to take the patient to a hospital at the earliest.
"About 45 days ago, I fractured my leg. I did not know where to contact for an ambulance. So I called the regular Cell Cab saying it's an emergency. In 10 minutes, a cab was standing near my door step," said Nishanth KV, a software professional.
After getting discharged from the hospital, he still continues to take the service of city cabs to visit the hospital for routine follow-ups.
Srinivas of City Safari cabs gets about five calls related to medical emergency every day.
"People prefer cabs in medical emergencies as the service is fast. While cabs are easily available, it is a long wait for ambulances," said Srinivas.
"We also get calls from pregnant women for taking them to hospitals for check-ups," said Ganesh P, a cab driver.
However, doctors suggest that in case of any fracture or injury, it is better to shift the patient to the hospital via an ambulance.
Dr Prabhakar Reddy, head of emergency, Wockhardt Hospital, Bannerghatta, said, "It is better if the patient is transferred to a hospital via an ambulance, specially in cases of head, neck or spine injury. Don't take chances by shifting the patient in a private vehicle. Rickety autorickshaws are the worst choice as they can cause more damage."
In an ambulance, there are paramedics who are adequately trained to deal with such cases.
But ambulances are few in number to meet the demand as accidents and health problems keep mounting. City hospitals do not have enough emergency vehicles. The government's Arogya Kavacch 108 emergency service has about 24 ambulances.