The seminar on Emergency Medical Services was organised by Aman Healthcare Services in collaboration with Karachi Press Club at the KPC, here on Tuesday. It aimed at creating awareness in the media community regarding importance of emergency medical services and the role Aman has played in this area for 10 years.
The participant pointed out that Karachi needs at least 200 life-saving ambulances to cater to emergencies. They also look forward to materialising the agreement with Sindh government.
Speakers noted that emergencies are reported every two minutes in the city on a daily basis, hence it is crucial that these emergencies are catered by lifesaving ambulances specifically with facilities and necessary equipment to provide adequate medical attention on the spot. Besides, paramedics inside these ambulances have to be trained to gauge emergency situations and provide the right attention on the spot to prevent further complications.
They also lauded Sindh government for having taken a step in right direction by announcing 'Sindh Emergency Medical Services' project. A similar public-private partnership already exists with the provincial government since 2017 under which the two sides run free-of-cost ambulance services in Thatta and Sujawal.
Aman Foundation's CEO Mujahid Khan, GM Khaqan Sikander and Aman Health's CEO Shazina Masud, President Karachi Press Club Muhammad Imtiaz Khan Faran and Treasurer KPC Raja Kamran spoke on operational and other aspects of emergency medical services, with a focus on importance of life-saving ambulances in Karachi's healthcare infrastructure.
They also cited recently-signed agreements with the government and Patients Aid Foundation under which the ambulance service would become free-of-cost for all citizens and the fleet would gradually be expanded to 200 lifesaving ambulances under a public-private framework to cater to the entire population of Karachi.
Shazina Masud underlined urgency of need for expanding emergency medical services in the city, and across Pakistan. As per World Health Organisation standards, there should be one life-saving ambulance per 100,000 people and we are far behind meeting this.
The event also included a demonstration and on-the-spot basic training in lifesaving skills for the participants, keeping in view that a medical emergency can happen anywhere and in anyone's home, and knowing basic lifesaving skills can actually save precious lives while people are waiting for an ambulance to reach.
Aman Health's flagship initiative, Aman Ambulance, has deeply impacted the landscape of emergency care in Karachi. It is the first of its kind of ambulance network providing 24/7 emergency care in Sindh. With advanced life-saving equipment, it has made over 1 million interventions to date. It transports patients to hospitals while providing intensive emergency care en-route.
The service has a fleet of 60 ambulances, over 500 trained healthcare professionals and life-saving drugs and equipment on board. It provides emergency medical interventions with an average response of 10 minutes. The service operates through a Command and Control Centre powered with real-time tracking and a wireless communications network, all part of the internationally-recognised Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS).