Bike Ambulances in Odisha bring healthcare closer to hilly areas

In hilly terrains where four-wheeler ambulance service fails to reach needy patients, the ‘Bike Ambulances’ have come as a bright spot in the ailing healthcare scenario in Odisha’s Kalahandi.

Last month, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dedicated three bike ambulances in Lanjigarh and Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi, two tribal populated hilly pockets where ambulances cannot reach villages.

Apart from ferrying pregnant women and ailing children to the hospitals, the ambulances also come to the aid of accident victims by taking them to the nearest health centres, said District Programme Manager of National Health Mission, Abani Ranjan Mohapatra.

He added that the ambulance drivers have been directed to provide their mobile numbers to the pregnant women so that they can be easily contacted during emergency.

“In fact, with launching of bike ambulances, the number of institutional delivery cases has gone up. Considering the demand for this service, the district administration has decided to introduce four more auto bike ambulances in inaccessible pockets of the district,” he said.

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