Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao flagged off 466 new 108 ambulances (emergency vehicles), and 228 Amma Vodi (transport facility for pregnant women) at Peoples Plaza on Tuesday, August 1.
Of these, 34 are Hearse Vehicles which are deployed to provide specialized services of transporting bodies of the deceased back to their native place, free of cost.
Before the launch, the 108 emergency fleet consisted of 426 vehicles out of which 175 vehicles are now being replaced by new ones and 29 new ambulances are being added to new routes.
Also, they were 300 non-emergency vehicles in the Amma Vodi fleet earlier, out of which 228 are now being replaced.
Likewise, the existing 34 old Hearse Vehicles are being replaced by the same number of new vehicles.
Speaking at the launch, the state finance minister T Harish Rao said, “This will go a long way in improving emergency health care services in Telangana.”
“In 2014, there were no Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances but today every district has one such ambulance. At the time of formation of the state, there were no ambulances for newborn but today there is one such ambulance in every district. Ammavodi vehicles are providing services to 4,000 pregnant women every day while 108 vehicles are catering to 2,000 people. There were no Ammavodi vehicles in 2014 but today there are 300 such vehicles,” he said.
“Similarly, there were no free Hearse vehicles when the state was formed. Today, the state has 50 such vehicles. They are providing services for an average 35 death cases every day. The government has taken several measures to strengthen healthcare services in the state. A 100-bed hospital is being established in every constituency,” he claimed.
The government is also setting up a medical college in every hospital. Four Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) hospitals in Hyderabad and Health City in Warangal will increase the number of beds in government schools to 50,000.
Harish Rao claimed that the state’s healthcare system is equipped to tackle any pandemic situation like Covid-19.
He announced that the state government will pay the mobile phone bills of ASHA workers. Smartphones will be provided to newly appointed ASHA workers in Hyderabad.
The minister said the salaries of 108 employees will be enhanced in four slabs.
(with inputs from IANS)
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