The motorbike ambulance service, launched in Mumbai on a pilot basis in August, has received 823 calls in the four months that it has been operational.

The service was launched by the state health department to respond to medical emergencies in densely populated slum pockets, where four-wheeler ambulances could not reach quickly, due to poor accessibility.

Since August, doctors, who are trained to ride two-wheelers, have been deployed on 10 bikes to complement the efforts of larger ambulances.in 10 selected localities in Mumbai, including Mankhurd, Dharavi, Nagpada, Goregaon, Kalina and Khar Danda, among others.

Bike ambulances are part of a fleet of 937 ambulances operated under the state government’s Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services by BVG India Ltd. Doctors working round-the-clock in three shifts have been deployed to complement the efforts of larger ambulances.

“In slum areas, where access to four-wheelers is restricted, bikes reach the site of an emergency quickly and stabilise the patient before the four-wheeler ambulance arrives,” said Dr Dyaneshwar Shelke, chief operating officer, BVG India Ltd.

The doctors on bikes are equipped with kits to deal with traumatic injuries, clear blocked airways and assist a pregnant woman in delivery. “The bike ambulances are also equipped to carry patients out to the nearest main road from where four-wheeler ambulance takes over,” said Shelke.

The bikes are deployed once a call is made to the state’s toll-free helpline – 108 – for medical emergencies. Studies have found that a bike ambulance reaches the site of an emergency several minutes before its larger counterparts.

A majority of the calls that the bike ambulances have responded to since August were from patients complaining of chest pain, respiratory trouble, sudden unconsciousness and falls from heights. Data provided by Shelke also showed that the bikes tended to 96 instances, where individuals had sustained traumatic injuries and 17 pregnancy-related emergencies.

Road accidents form a significantly small number of the emergencies in which the bike ambulances have been called into action. “In those situations, the bike ambulance works in tandem with the four-wheeler ambulance and helps to cordon off the area. But with the number of people and vehicles on the roads, we ensue that we report to an emergency on time,” said Shelke.

The project will be reviewed in January, when the six-month pilot ends. Shelke is confident of it being rolled out on a bigger scale from the next year.

“We have been able to make professional medical care accessible in places where it did not always reach on time. There is now assurance among residents that help will arrive on time… The facility being free-of-cost makes a lot of difference. Having a qualified doctor arrive at your home within minutes adds a lot of value,” said Shelke.

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