108 Ambulance Service Completes Nine Years in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The 108 ambulance service has completed nine years of its uninterrupted emergency service in Odisha on March 5 this year.

Since the launch of 108 ambulance service in the State in March 2013, it has ferried and saved more than 75 lakh valuable lives. Patients from both urban as well as rural areas of the State got benefited from this service, a phenomenal achievement in offering emergency healthcare response services.

The service, which connects patients with health care institutions at the time of emergency, had been successful to render its service in several urban, rural as well as inaccessible remote locations.
Speaking on the occasion, Sabyasachi Biswal, State Head of Ziqitza Healthcare Ltd, the operating agency for 108 services in Odisha said, “We are happy to complete nine successful years in providing ambulance service to the people of the state. We had started from a small fleet of 108 ambulance and now we have more than 1100 ambulances for the service in Odisha. It has served people across the state regardless of any ecological landscape they get call from. Our ambulance crew members have shown utmost devotion to duty in times of cyclone and other natural calamities. Last two year was most challenging so far for us, because despite Covid-19 pandemic, our crew members have shown exemplary resolve to transport patients without any hesitation. In the last nine years, we have evolved with more structured practices and are committed to improve our service to be more people friendly.”

Currently, the operating agency hosts 1124 numbers of 108 ambulances in all 30 districts of Odisha for emergency services. Through 108 ambulance services, a total of 75,34,815 people have availed the ambulance service. Similarly, six 108 boat ambulances have been pressed into services for the people of water locked and cut-off areas of the State.

108 Ambulance services operate from a state-of -the-art facility in Bhubaneswar. A dedicated call centre of the agency had always been on their toes to receive calls from distressed patients and transport them to hospitals at the earliest possible time. The executives at the Bhubaneswar-based integrated center identify the exact location of the patient and assist them to get to the nearest available ambulance as soon as possible.

In last nine years we have seen numerous examples, where the crew members played an important role in saving valuable lives despite enormous challenges. There are many instances where crew members have set examples by exhibiting honesty and humanity in their work. In recent years, 108 employees have received praise and accolades from the public for their good Samaritans act such as return of valuable belongings of patients to their families and relatives, giving blood to needy patients in emergency, carrying the patients on stretcher walking for miles etc. Many of 108 ambulance crew members were felicitated by the people/organisations on several occasions for such actions.