Govt plans helicopter emergency medical service; to begin with AIIMS Rishikesh

New Delhi [India], August 29 : The Ministry of Civil Aviation has proposed a pilot project to station a helicopter at AIIMS Rishikesh to meet the golden hour requirements for accident victims.
Once successful, the civil aviation ministry said this project will be a quantum leap in healthcare facilities in India and will pave the way to rope-in other private players for such services.
It intends to undertake a pilot project implementation of utilizing helicopters in EMS role to explore the viability, benefits and risks if any, so as to define the approach that can be adopted before larger resources are committed.
Notably, many operators have already shown their keen interest in providing the service. Now, the ministry has requested an Expression of Interest (EoI) for helicopter emergency medical services.
The document accessed by ANI reads that the ministry is desirous of developing helicopter emergency medical services in order to provide a speedy medical outreach to needy citizens.
Air operators who express their interest will be invited to participate in a subsequent EoI conference at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, New Delhi wherein they would be invited to make a presentation on their experience, capabilities and related issues, the document reads.
Helicopters can provide a crucial service that can deliver emergency care quickly within the golden hour.
In medical parlance, the golden hour is the time period where access to definitive care within an hour of the occurrence of life-threatening trauma can make all the difference between life and death.
Helicopters dedicated to such a role can greatly expand the emergency service capability by enlarging the medical outreach in an expeditious manner.
It is later envisioned to incorporate a larger network to augment the land-based ambulances to increase the accessibility of trauma care services to a wider population base across the country.