Guwahati: Dispur will add 300 more ambulances by next year under the 108 emergency services to reduce the response time from 31 minutes to 23 minutes.

This was revealed by Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during the launch of 95 new ambulances at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra on Tuesday. He announced the plans to add another 150 ambulances within two months and the same number by 2018 fiscal. He asked the officials of 108 ambulance services to constitute five-member groups in every village to resolve problems related to the service.

"The response time has increased because of the condition of ambulances in recent years. If the duration was 25 minutes earlier, it has now become 33 minutes. Another reason is lack of adequate ambulances in respective areas. We have planned to increase the number of ambulances so that the response time decreases. Moreover, to make the service more vibrant we will constitute a committee in every village to coordinate with officials," Sarma said.

He said the government has planned to replace 30 per cent of the old ambulances with new ones every year, so that the service becomes more prompt in the state. "Our aim is to bring the response time down to 15 minutes. Within one year we can reduce the time to at least 23 minutes and work on this has already started," Sarma said.

At present, around 100 ambulances are in a non-useable condition while only 380 ambulances are on the road. It also has five boats. Officials said off-the-road ambulances will be used as hearses after repairs.

The 108 emergency ambulance service was launched in Assam in November 2008.

Till November this year, it has received 46,93,408 emergency calls and attended to 30,39,113 cases. In the past nine years, it has saved 1,40,192 lives and also assisted 35,888 delivery cases, along with 1,77,119 road accidents and 12,04,298 pregnancy cases. It has come as a huge help in rural areas.

Sarma said assessment of the health sector just like that of the education sector will start soon.

"We have planned to hold Gunotsav-like assessment drives in the health sector to improve services. It will be an instant drive, where like Gunotsav no earlier notice will be sent to the centre or the hospital. We have also planned to carry out instant assessment drives in other offices of the education department. As the NRC update process is going on now, such drives will be carried out after April next year," Sarma said.