The government Tuesday said that during COVID-19 pandemic had put 108 ambulances into service to facilitate the people.
An official spokesperson in a statement issued here said that till date 1653 COVID-19 suspects had been shifted to hospitals for treatment and lives of 4350 COVID-19 patients had been saved.
He said that adequate ambulances had been deployed in every district of J&K to evacuate COVID-19 patients to the nearby designated COVID-19 health institutions.
The spokesman said that these ambulances were having essential drugs to deal with any medical emergency and were fitted with critical life-saving equipment like Transport Ventilator, Monitors, Defibrillator and Oxygen Delivery System (ODS) with specialised stretchers for shifting critical patients.
The spokesman aid trained Emergency Technicians (EMTs) monitor the vitals of the patient and provide pre-hospital care to the patients in the ambulance and these EMTs were in constant touch with Emergency Response Physicians (ERCPs) sitting in the call centres who guide the EMTs as per the condition of the patient till he or she is admitted safely in the hospital.
He said Jammu and Kashmir Emergency Medical Services (108-102 Ambulance Service) is an initiative of the government in Public Private Partnership with BVG India Limited, which is a free of cost service for the general public.
The spokesman said that this programme was launched on 24 March 2020 under which 139 ambulances had been stationed across J&K.
He said that since the launch of the programme, 54,396 emergency patients had been shifted to various health institutions.
The authorities have appealed the general public to take full advantage of this free-of-cost service by contacting at toll free number 108.