State-of-the-art ambulances (in picture above) will be the mainstay of the emergency units

Feb. 23: Dispur has sanctioned Rs 1.57 crore to set up three mobile emergency care units at Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH). The units will be in line with leading hospitals of the country.

Confirming the development, an Assam government official said the units would be equipped with state-of-the-art ambulances and equipment and will be manned by trained paramedical staff and doctors to offer round-the-clock service during emergency.

“Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accorded top priority to setting up of the mobile units in view of mounting criticism faced by the hospital for its failure to handle emergencies effectively,” he said.

Sources said during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to the city, officials from the Special Protection Group (SPG) had complained about the ambulance and emergency care services available at GMCH. They had told health department officials to improve GMCH’s emergency services, as its ambulances were not fit to be used for VIPs like the Prime Minister, the sources said.

A doctor said the proposed mobile emergency care units would be equipped with modern ambulances, adequate number of vehicles, modern portable equipment and constant supply of medicines.

The units would also have committed and trained staff paramedics and doctors with adequate knowledge and skill to provide life-support and advanced life-support measures to critical patients. The staff would also be given special training on trauma, the doctor said.

The doctor said many patients have died because of trauma instead of injuries during emergencies.

The government has also decided to set up a separate and exclusive accident unit and emergency block on the GMCH premises.

A trauma centre will also be set up at the hospital.

Welcoming the move, Junior Doctors’ Association president Syed Tanwir Alam said the units were a long felt need of the GMCH.

He, however, said only providing modern ambulances and equipment would not make them function effectively. The government has to create adequate manpower to run the units, Alam said.