The South Dinajpur district health department, in association with the district administration, on Wednesday launched 17 well-equipped digital ambulances with global positioning system (GPS) facility.

The idea is to extend better paramedic services to the ill and immediate medical treatment to pregnant women who sometimes experience problems while reaching their nearest hospitals, officials said.

Member of Parliament from Balurghat Arpita Ghosh, District Magistrate Sarad Kumar Dwivedi, Chief Medical Officer Sukumar Dey and other dignitaries of the district administration were present in the launching ceremony.

The new ambulances will run from two hospitals and from all block level rural hospitals in the district. The services will betodgin from 14 March after necessary paper work is completed, it is learnt.

According to officials of the district health department, patients will be given free medical facilities like first aid, stretcher trolleys, safe delivery kits, baby resuscitation kits, and oxygen cylinders. O

ne female and one male attendant will also be present to attend to the patients in the ambulance, they claimed.

“The district health department has been trying hard to enhance medical services for newborn babies and their mothers after successfully accomplishing the Matrijan project in the district.

At present, there are 105 ambulances serving different hospitals in the district,” sources said. “The service will be called ‘102 ambulance service.’ Anyone can book an ambulance by dialing 102 from their telephones.

The GPS system will further inform the patients the number of the ambulance and the estimated time to reach the hospital instantly through a message which will be delivered to their mobile phones.

Within 30 minutes of the first call, the ambulance will pick up the patient for the hospital. This new initiative will reduce the rate of deliveries at home,” said MP, Ms Ghosh. Chief Medical Officer of Health Sukumar Dey said, “Ahead of international women’s day, this is a big gift for women living in South Dinajpur.

We are presently running 105 Matrijans in the district. With this new project we have received 17 new well-equipped ambulances which will run as a supplement to the Matrijan project.

The modernly mechanized ambulances will promptly carry and shift patients to the hospitals and will also take them back home.

These ambulances will start their services from 14 March after completing necessary paper works and after receiving road permissions.”