The state of Karnataka has appointed an integrated air ambulance service, capable of emergency medical transportation over long distances. The aerial service through a helicopter is further combined with land ambulance services, thus ensuring last mile connectivity.
The one-of-its-kind service is a joint venture between the International Critical Air Transfer Team (ICATT) and Kyathi, an aviation technology firm. The former comprises emergency medical service experts while Kyathi is responsible for the fixed wing aircraft to be used for emergency transportation.
To be stationed at the HAL airport in Bengaluru, the rotor wing aircraft will help ensure a timely medical service to the region around. Considering the traffic conditions in the city at peak hours, the service will cater to critical medical emergencies at a much faster speed.
The air ambulance to be used in the service is claimed to be equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities. An example of this is the German Isolation Pod offered by the service.
These pods can be used to transport even patients with contagious diseases, such as Covid-19. The pods use negative pressure inside to keep any virus from escaping. A report by TOI indicates that the facility costs around Rs 20 lakh.
The service, thus, could not have come at a better time than during the pandemic. State chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa highlighted this plus during the launch - "I am also glad that we have taken this initiative at a time such as the Covid-19 pandemic when healthcare concerns are higher than normal."
ICATT claims that within this year, it has completed 63 domestic transfers, 10 international transfers and seven organ transfers. A recent one took a Covid-19 patient from Kolkata to Chennai. The transfer was made possible by the use of the isolation pod.