Dial 108 in U.P, call ambulance to pvt hospital to shift to govt one
Many patients need to shift from a private hospital to a government one, often when the patient’s family runs out of money during treatment at a private facility
Patients admitted to a private hospital and needing to shift to a government health facility, can now avail of the services of state-run, free-of-cost 108-ambulance service.
The Uttar Pradesh health department has taken this decision as a large number of patients need to shift from a private facility to a government one but could not avail of the ambulance facility from state-run establishments.
“The company running the ambulance service has been directed to facilitate shifting of patients from private hospitals also, as they do from other places,” said a senior health official.
The 108 ambulances that are managed by EMRI Green Health Services in the state, till now provided transport facility to patients from their home to government health care facility or from an accident side to the nearest government hospital.
Many patients need to shift from a private hospital to a government one, often when the patient’s family runs out of money during treatment at a private facility.
Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary-general, Association of International Doctors said, “In such a situation, having a government ambulance is the best option as they have the best equipment and staff trained to handle serious trauma cases.”
To call an ambulance, one needs to dial 108 from their phone and give details about the patient and the location. The same procedure will be followed when they have to shift from a private hospital to a government one.
There are at least 2,200 ambulances running under the 108 service and 2,270 ambulances under the 102 services. They cater to accident cases, serious patients at home and injured persons. These ambulances will, however, not take any patient to a private hospital.