Help at hand

Chennai, May 18: Buried alive by her family, the unwanted three-hour-old owes her life to a three-digit number.

The number also proved a lifesaver for a man who had fallen into a bore well.

Within 20 minutes, an ambulance was at the spot providing oxygen support while workmen dug a pit parallel to the well the man had fallen into and pulled him out.

The toll-free 108, accessible through landlines and mobile phones round the clock, have so far saved at least 29,000 people in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat since the Hyderabad-based Emergency Management Research Institute’s (EMRI) emergency response services project got rolling.

Powered by technology support from software major Satyam Computers and blessed by former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the EMRI plans to take the scheme to all states by 2010.

The scheme entered its fifth state in Tamil Nadu, where the institute signed a memorandum of understanding with the DMK-led government to provide free emergency assistance.

“We don’t care even if he is a criminal needing immediate medical attention. We just respond to the call,” said Venkat Changavalli, chief executive officer, EMRI, after signing the MoU with the state’s health department represented by P.W.C. Davidar, director, Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, in the presence of chief minister M. Karunanidhi.

The scheme, EMRI officials said, hopes to save at least 100 lives every day by reaching critical patients within 20 minutes and stabilising their condition at the nearest hospital.

“In Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, we have been attending to an average of 5,400 emergencies a month — 4,600 in Andhra and 800 in Gujarat — since the project got rolling,” Changavalli said. “So far, we have saved the lives of over 29,000 people.”

EMRI officials said the emergency response service works through a central call centre and a network of ambulances fitted with sophisticated, life-saving equipment.

The EMRI, whose chairman emeritus is Kalam, was set up as a non-profit organisation. It is funded by B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman, Satyam Computers, and operates on a public-private partnership model with various state governments, which meet the expenses incurred.

The institute has also signed MoUs with Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. “We plan to extend the 108 service throughout India by 2010 and save a million lives every year,” Changavalli said.

There are also plans to integrate the police and fire services into the scheme. Changavalli said ambulances would be equipped with geographic information and global positioning systems to help locate a victim so that the nearest van one could be despatched.

In Tamil Nadu, the government, Davidar said, has sanctioned Rs 17 crore to buy 198 ambulances to kick off the project. The emergency response service will roll by July-end, Davidar said.

Whether it is an accident, a pregnancy that requires immediate attention or a cardiac arrest at home or while taking a stroll, the number 108, Changavalli said, will be the key to save lives.

Like in the Andhra village where the man fell into a bore well, Changavalli said, or in the state’s Mahaboobnagar district where paramedics dug out the baby girl and took her to hospital. She is now growing up in the home of a childless couple who have adopted her.