Sunday, 18 February 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The much awaited Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in the State is expected to start soon from the All India Institute of Medical Services (AIIMS) Rishikesh. The State will become the first in the country to have an air ambulance facility for the general public. The Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia made the declaration about commencement of the HEMS in Uttarakhand recently. The state government and the union government will share the cost of the service on equal proportions. Scindia said that an air ambulance will be deployed at the helipad of the AIIMS Rishikesh and will function in a radius of 150 kilometres. The trauma patients and the patients requiring immediate medical assistance will be served by the air ambulance. The service will be extremely useful for accident victims in the mountainous areas of the State.
The government has selected a private Heli service company to start the service and it has accomplished the task of converting one of its helicopters into an air ambulance. The company is in process of obtaining necessary clearances for the air ambulance. It is learnt that the company can commence its operation ahead of the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in view of the Lok Sabha elections.
The public relations officer of AIIMS Rishikesh, Sandeep Kumar Singh told The Pioneer that the institute is ready to operate the service. He said that the institute already caters to the patients airlifted by the state administration from different parts of the state. AIIMS Rishikesh has served 151 patients so far who were transported to its emergency by the helicopters of the State administration. Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had inaugurated the helipad in AIIMS Rishikesh on August 11, 2020. The AIIMS Rishikesh has trained a team of doctors, nursing staff and para medical staff which will be deployed in the heli ambulance.
