Madhumitha B
Video-linked ambulance service, the first of its kind in the country, which will start functioning from Monday.

Caught in the traffic snarls, many accident victims have died on their way to the hospital due to lack of timely medical help. A City hospital has come up with video-linked ambulance wherein the victim will start getting the treatment by paramedics on the advise of a team of doctors, relayed live from the hospital.

Dr Sharan S Patil had an ambitious desire that sprouted a few years ago, much before he set up Sparsh Hospital. As a doctor, attending to medical emergencies is undoubtedly the essence of the role but the responsibility, he realised, was much more. As a Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon, specialising in trauma care, he says, bridging the gap between medical treatment and patients is important.

Several initiatives have been undertaken by Dr Sharan through Sparsh Hospital, that is at the Narayana Health City in Bangalore. 'Resuscitation by Right' is among the exceptional service he has shouldered to undertake. This involves attending to accident victims in any part of the City, at any time and as soon as possible. "Timely intervention during an emergency will lessen the morbidity and mortality rate. We believe in providing medical assistance to anybody who is brought in, irrespective of who the person is. No questions asked. Priority is to stabilise the person and that is what we have inculcated at Sparsh," shares Dr Sharan.

Video-linked ambulance

Innovation, says Dr Sharan, is born out of necessity and with time, he has worked towards upgrading the service for trauma.
Rescuing accident victims was one side of the coin but how can one battle the City traffic to get the victim in time to the hospital.
The answer to this question - video-linked ambulance service, the first of its kind in the country, which will start functioning from Monday.

Talking about the new service, he says, "Every ambulance at our hospital, when out to attend accident calls, will have a team of paramedics, medicines, equipment and most importantly, a laptop with a camera. The person designated to handle the camera will shoot every detail of the wreckage the moment they reach the spot.
As they are driving towards the hospital, the injury sustained by the victim will be recorded along with vital parameters such as the ECG, blood pressure and pulse rate being checked. Through video conferencing (visuals sent to the hospital through a datacard on the laptop), all this information will be relayed live to a team of doctors at the hospital who will study the situation and provide assistance, with regard to treatment, to the paramedics."

That's not all. Based on the severity and area of injury, a team of specialists will be ready at the hospital, in the case of the need of a surgery or further medical support. "The first one hour is the golden hour and that can make all the difference. The aim is to reach out quickly to the victims with help, upping the chances of their survival after an accident," he adds.

Through video-linked service, the probability of stabilising an accident victim is faster, whilst battling City traffic and even before reaching the hospital, consequently, resulting in a dip in the mortality rate.
Dr Sharan is working on a superior model of technology alongside the present project. "We have tried and tested this service for the past few months and we will probably have a few hiccups that we need to overcome. When technology is involved, it needs to be constantly upgraded and we will amend and advance as we progress."

Raising funds

Sparsh Foundation, the charitable trust of the hospital is the driving force behind keeping alive their work in the area of service to the society. Last year alone, the foundation raised as much as Rs 23 lakh towards this cause including the much talked about surgery on two-year-old Lakshmi Tatma. "What is the purpose of advancement in the medical field if it doesn't reach out to the masses? We are working towards a cost-effective service for a larger population. I am optimistic that Sparsh will never have to cease this work as we will always find a way to keep it alive," he says adding that the aim is to ensure affluence and medical practice don't go hand in hand.
For now, the video-linked ambulance is Sparsh's way of reaching out to those in need, an opportunity to touch lives, says Dr Sharan.

The emergency number to contact Sparsh is 9900100088 or 1800-425-1333 from any BSNL line.